Me, My Brother and our Dark Gluey Friend
by EgyptianSapphireDragons
Summary: Seto hated living in the orphanage. Hated everything about it. When a young visitor unintentionally leaves a golden puzzle box in his new home,he meets a unusual being that isn't exactly alive but seems to be pretty friendly. A little too friendly.How will he manage to protect his little brother from the world with this weird black creature following him like some kind of lost pup?
1. The Millenium Puzzle

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!. I have to apologize for my bad mastery of the English language and any grammar or characterization mistakes that may appear. I'm doing this story just for training and fun, so I hope you enjoy it anyway. ;)**

 **Note: This story takes place while the Kaiba brothers are still in the orphanage. Yugi and his Grandpa were only there to visit.**

 **No more talking, you can read now.**

The day was hot.

 _Unbearably_ hot.

Seto was a person who normally didn't mind the weather. But God, he was devouring the small popsicle that they distributed to the children of his age as if it was the last thing he would ever eat.

His brother Mokuba was playing with one of the smaller boys, but the other kid wasn't wearing the orphanage uniform, so Seto assumed it was a visitor. He hated visitors. Always thinking that they're bigger and better just because they never had to spend a day in this hell.

No, life in the orphanage wasn't that bad. But he was accustomed to his easy, happy and fun life in his parent's mansion. Living in a place with such low class people, bedrooms and food disgusted him(1). In addition to the bullies who tried to hurt his brother, the stupid visitors and the adults who refused to want to adopt Mokuba along with him. He and his brother were a package deal. No one will ever separate him from the last family he has. No one.

"Nii-sama!"

Looking up, Seto stopped nibbling his popsicle stick when instead of seeing his little brother's gray eyes, his gaze met two violet orbs shining with joy. With a smile, the ridiculous-haired visitor nodded to him happily.

"Who is it?" He growled at Mokuba, who was holding the hand of the older kid timidly.

"Umm ... Yugi-san. He came to visit." Murmured the younger, quickly adding: "He showed me this super cool game that his grandfather found in Egypt! It even has this weird riddle written in it's box! Yugi-san said that no one was able to solve it in more than three thousand years!"

"I'm still trying." Said the tricolor haired boy with a timid smile.

Seto's eyes widened with interest. "How is it?" He muttered, getting up from his place at the orphanage's stone staircase rung. Looking around, he motioned for his brother and Yugi to follow him, and took them to the room that he and Mokuba shared with five other boys. He hated sharing.

"Tell me about this game." Seto said, trying to keep a cheerful smile from his face, without much success. He really loved games, but he and Mokie didn't have many opportunities or time to play over here, at the orphanage.

Yugi hesitantly sat on the bed, and when none of the other boys complained, he began: "Well, my grandpa found it a long time ago. Before I was even born! In one of his trips to Egypt, he went into a tomb and disarmed several frightening traps in order to get ... "The amentist eyed boy paused to muss his small backpack.

"...this."

The eyes of both young children brightened at the sight of the golden box, which was shining with the scorching rays of light falling through the open window. Seto approached, his fingers tingling with a urge to grab the gold ark.

"Can you guys see these funny symbols here?" Yugi said, pointing the various hieroglyphics carved in gold. Both boys nodded in confirmation.

"My grandfather said that they mean: 'To the one that owns me, I will give dark wisdom and strength', but it's a very rough translation. It could also mean 'To the one that controls me' or 'To the one who solves me', and he could be offering strength and protection rather than wisdom. We still aren't quite sure! " Laughed the violet eyed boy (2).

"Amazing!" Seto was the most impressed. "I can see what kind of game is it?" He continued, sitting in bed. Yugi nodded happily, uncapping the golden box with a loud 'POP!'.

Looking into the container, the brothers were surprised.

"A puzzle?" They said in unison, while Mokuba was much more excited that Seto. He didn't see what's so fun in puzzles, as they were always too easy for him. Mookie quite liked them though.

"It's not just a puzzle. It's The Millennium Puzzle!" Winked the crazy-haired boy.

Smiling, Yugi spreaded the golden pieces on the small bed, and showed the other two boys the only two pieces that were connected among the various pieces of gold. Blushing, he muttered: "Those were the only parts I could attach in two years."

Surprised, the young blue-eyed grabbed several pieces that seemed compatible and tried to attach them, only to find that they actually did not resemble at all. Blinking, he left them aside and took the already assembled piece carefully, and then tried to merge it with some larger pieces without success. The boy looked at the scattered around pieces on the bed with shock, surprise and mild confusion.

"I said it was hard!" Said the purple eyed, smiling.

"Nii-sama! Yugi-san!"

The older boys turned around and widened their eyes at the sight of Mokuba holding a brand new assembled piece of puzzle. "WHAT?!" They shouted.

"It's not that hard!" The little boy said, picking up a few pieces of gold. "You just have to join those who don't look anything like each other and try to attach them! Then they will... will ... hnnnn ..." He frowned as none of his other attempts worked. Striving to not throw the box all over the room, (His parents said that doing these kind of things was pretty impolite after all,) he turned away from the puzzle.

Mokie ruffled his own hair angrily. "But it had worked before! You two were looking! You guys gave me bad luck!" He accused.

Wrinkling his nose, Seto was challenged. Yikes, his little brother and a visitor managed to put together at least one piece of the damn thing. He wasn't going to back down!

The three boys jumped when the deafening alarm indicating snack time sounded all over the walls of the building. Seto hated the noise. It always left him with a headache.

"I'm already going." He warned, rising to leave to the dinning hall. When Mokuba invited Yugi, he took the chance to ask him to take the puzzle with them to the 'recess'. He wanted to try to beat it for as much time as he could, after all, he doubted that Yugi would ever visit again. They never come back. He gave up in the nonsense that was waiting for the return of an outsider a long, long time ago.

After they were all sitting at the usual table of the two brothers with their respective snacks, they had a good talk about game types and gameplays. Seto almost felt bad knowing that Yugi would go away. Almost. His control in the 'emotions area' was improving.

Some older idiots from the orphanage moved behind Yugi's chair and stole his golden box without the younger noticing while he and the two brothers were talking. Seto saw, but was silent. The tricolor haired boy should have been more careful and closed the bag after all. You don't simply let a pure gold object at the mercy of the eyes of anyone.

After they finished eating, Yugi said his goodbye. Mokuba's lips were trembling, but Seto did his best to hide his emotions. The visitor smiled at him and told him to stop biting his lips, since he would come back to visit again.

Lies.

When the sun was setting, the gathering signal sounded and the brothers returned to the room they shared with some stupid brats. Seto waited for the lights go out and his 'roommates' start rumbling before silently get down from the bunk and lift the old window just enough so he could pass.

It was a relatively slow and difficult process considering that the old and worn wood from orphanage creaked at the slightest movements, but at some point in the night Seto squeezed through the hole in the window and left.

He walked through the open courtyard on tiptoe, trying not to make a disgusted face when felt the muddy earth sticking on the soles of his feet. How the other boys could stand getting even dirtier than it was beyond him.

Arriving in one of the courtyard trees, he removed the small stones in his way and thrusted his hand into the hidden hole that was between the roots. His mouth twitched as he tried to find what he wanted from the various items stolen by monkeys from the orphanage and a big smile spreaded across his face as his hand brushed against something rectangular.

Pulling his arm out, he smiled at the pure untainted gold of the ' Millennium Puzzle's ' box shining brightly in the moonlight. After feeling the weight of the box and the old slots with appreciation, the boy with chocolaty hair quietly went back to his room.

It seems that he would have more time left to try to win this game after all.

 **And then? What do you think? The first chapter was kind of boring, but so are all beginnings, so give me a little more time to improve this story before being a flamer! (Speaking of which, flames will not be accepted.)**

 **1- I believe that Seto was already quite accustomed to the good life he had before, with his parents. Moreover, he lived in a mansion and had only the best quality things. So, I imagine he would have a hard time living in a place like an orphanage, where 99% of things are cheap and shared!**

 **2 I saw several different translations of the 'charade of the Millennium Puzzle', but couldn't decide which one to use. So there you go.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the start of Me, My Brother and our Dark Gluey Friend. Weird name, I know, but it's the best that I've thought of so far. If you like, please leave your comment. I need to know what I can do to improve in both grammar and plotline, and if you are enjoying it! But please be gentle! This is my first fanfic ever!**


	2. What is this thing?

**Hey, I'm back! :D**

 _ **dragonwitch250**_ **, thank you for your kind words! Here's the next chapter! ;).**

 **This chap will be a lot longer, but it's only on the next one that Seto and Yami actually met. Yami does appear here, but they don't interact that much. There will be a little amount of angst in this one, but don't get used to it because 90% of this fic will be pure fluff. I wish that there was a tag for fluff because that's what this fic is!**

 **Warning: There is some bullying and cursing in this chap :\\.**

It's been eight days.

Eight. Freaking. _Days_.

He wasn't able to put even _one_ piece of the damn puzzle together!

And he was feeling really bad because Yugi had come over several times just to search for the damn thing, but Seto wouldn't, _couldn't_ let the little boy take the infuriating game away _without_ him beating it! The only way that it would return to Yugi was completed, with no. Exceptions.

The young, happy boy had been really sad when he was visiting him in the last time. Seto hated to hide his beloved piece of ancient trash, but he just _couldn't_. He was betting his _pride_ as a gamer in this stupid puzzle! Giving it away would be the same as giving up and he wouldn't. Do. Such. A thing.

Exhausted, the boy threw the damn gold box under his bed, then covered it with some clothes. It wasn't like he would die if he used the same clothes for a day or two.

A strange noise began to sound outside his room. It sounded like something was being bumped against the wall. Frustrated, the boy covered his ears with his pillow. He wanted to rest, dammit!

When the annoying noise didn't stop, the young man stood up, angry and ready to have a good talk with whoever was making so much noise. But by opening the door, the blue-eyed boy felt his heart stop.

"My brother didn't stole anything, I swear!" Screamed the small black haired kid, whose face was pressed against the concrete wall, blood dripping in strands from his tiny nose and curled mouth. His face was swollen and his formely pink eye was become a dark shade of purple, tears staining the corners of his cheeks.

 **"Leave him alone!"** The older brother shouted without even thinking. All five boys turned to him. These idiots were some of the older guys from the orphanage. Seto and Mokie shared a room with them, but they tried to avoid meeting those stupid dogs just because they're assholes who usually beat the smaller kids for some reason. All of them were tall with huge muscles, and a small, thin child as Seto couldn't do much more than scratching one of them, and with the five together ...

Swallowing hard, the young kid prepared for a fight. Seeing his little brother in such a deplorable state infuriated him.

The five older boys laughed, and the bigger one continued to beat Mokie's face on the wall a few times, until the little boy went limp in front of his brother, one of the cuts on his forehead causing blood to quickly drip down from his face.

 **"STOP IT !"** Shouted Seto, blindly rushing to rescue his little brother.

One of the monkeys caught him with ease. Laughing, he said, "Hey, isn't this the little shit that is stealing our personal goods lately?" The others looked at Seto, who was wriggling in the painful grip of the older boy.

"Yeah, that one." Pulling the smaller one by his hair, the leader of monkeys threatened: "You thought we didn't know that you take your brother's toys back every time we tore they out of his hands? We let you get away with it just because we only take these kind of things for fun, but you dared ... you _dared_ to steal something that is worth more than your life or your stupid little brother's. "

He waved to someone behind Seto approach. The brown-haired boy opened his eyes to see his-no, Yugi's Puzzle on the filthy hands of one of the monkeys. The boy gritted his teeth.

Dropping Mokuba, who fell limply to the ground, the leader clucked his fingers.

"I think we'll have to teach you a lesson..."

The first punch plucked some of the little boy's baby teeth off. Seto scowled when he felt blood filling his mouth. They threw him violently against the wall and beat him until he was seeing stars. It was late, so there were no inspectors to stop what was happening. Or they simply didn't care. Seto lost confidence in them a long time ago.

When the young blue eyed kid stopped fighting back, they dragged him to the bathroom. Seto had conscience enough to hold the edges of the toilet bowl to try to stop them, but he was too weak and the monkeys were much stronger than him.

It was the most humiliating experience of his life.

Drenched and coughing miserably, the boy was brutally thrown into the supply closet, followed by the golden box.

"If you want both to solve this damn thing, you better do it until tomorrow morning. If not, your beloved little brother will lose a lot more than just toys."

And the door slammed. Hard.

He could hear the monkeys trapping him inside of the tiny room with something.

Trembling and humiliated, Seto looked at the box with disgust. This thing had caused more problems on some days than Mokie in five years, and the black eyed boy was a trouble magnet.

All he wanted to do was ruin the damn thing with his own hands, but Mokuba's security was on the line, so he forced himself to move to the golden object and gripped it, spilling its contents on the gray floor.

The huge diversity of formats still made no sense. The pieces didn't fit no matter how many times he tried. What this thing had against him? He was frustrated, tired and terrified. His hands were sweating so much that the gold pieces slipped out of his hands several times.

Suddenly, he began to feel ill. He had promised ... he had promised Mokie that he would protect him. That nothing bad would happen to him. That he would be strong for both of them.

All this would be lost because of a stupid game?

Seto cowered against the wall, still trying to fit two incompatible parts. His body ached with every move and he couldn't help but twist his nose with the nauseating smell of the mixture of dirty water and blood that pervaded his body. He was afraid. Terrified.

What if even if he could finish the damn puzzle, the monkeys decided hurt his brother anyway? What could he do to stop them? He was small, fragile and weak. What a useless guardian he was!

He wanted to be the best brother in the world. He wanted Mokie to have the happiest childhood on Earth. He wanted him to feel safe and happy. He wanted ... He just wanted ...

"Mommy ... daddy ..." He began to whimper. In his hands, rested half of the Millennium Puzzle. The pieces slid into place easily, as if they were just part of the simplest game in the world.

Burying his face in the golden artifact, tears began to flow from the boy's face. "Help me..." he murmured. "Help me..."

His hands continued to move.

"Help me ... I don't want ... I don't want to live like this ... I want ... I want to go home ..."

Click.

"Help me..."

Click.

"I want my mom ... I-I want my dad ..."

Click.

"I ... I just want someone to take us away from this hell ..."

Click.

Seto looked at the triangular object in his hands. Only the middle piece was missing. If he was in another situation, any other, he would have been overly happy. But now all he could manage was a slight smile on his face painted with tears.

Maybe ... just maybe ...

Carefully, he picked up the centerpiece. Feeling the pure gold with his fingers, he gently slid the last piece in place.

It fit in with a soft sound.

There was silence for a few minutes while Seto savored his little victory. But his small breakdown had left him without energy to celebrate this bittersweet win properly. Tomorrow he would steal some snacks and go to a secret picnic with Mokie, but now he just wanted...he just wanted to rest.

The blue-eyed boy could feel the weight of sleep dulling his members. Looking out the window, he saw that in a few hours the sun would rise.

"Damn it." He murmured sleepily. "I'll end up sleeping in class ..."

The soft, warm throb in his hands only intensified his sleep need.

Wait.

Seto almost jumped out of his skin seeing the pyramid in his hands glowing and pulsating with life. The pulsate reminded him so much of a human heart that he dropped the curio desperately, only to kick it away.

The Puzzle hit the wall, shaking and pulsing, an almost blinding light filling the dark room in seconds. Seto capped his eyes until the light decreased and looked at the place where the object used to be.

The triangular shadow behind the Puzzle _writhed_. It _writhed_ and _grew_ , **a lot,** taking a humanoid shape- with a spiky head. Two gigantic arms opened so the tips of its fingers could touch each side of the opposite wall- the wall where Seto had shrunk against.

The shadow occupied most of the small room, and the child regretted kicking the puzzle towards the door, because now he couldn't even try to escape this... **Thing.**

An eye terribly similar to the artifact's one opened where the creature's forehead should be, shining with a strong tone of golden. Followed by two **huge** almond-shaped yellow eyes, which even having no pupils were certainly focused on Seto like the eyes of a hunter are focused on its prey.

The thing stood still for a few seconds, staring at him. The blue-eyed boy's heart was beating desperately against his ribs, he was sweating cold and his eyes were wide to the max with fear. He was sure that every hair on his body was standing, and that he shouldn't have drunk so much juice at lunchtime, judging by the feel of a warm liquid flowing down his legs...

Great.

Wonderful.

As if his day wasn't already screwed up enough.

Suddenly, the thing started to peel itself off the wall.

 **The thing started to peel itself off the wall!**

Seto was too terrified to scream or move. He just watched as the black creature gave up into being a shadow to become something more physical. Something... almost physical.

The bizarre body was made mostly of gas and dark goo. The creature moved awkwardly, trying to approach him. Seto didn't move until the thing was less than two feet away, because only the grotesque way it moved alone was enough to freeze the little kid to the bone.

Finally, adrenaline filled his limbs, and he got up to try to escape, but it was too late. In less than a second, the thing grabbed his head, and Seto could feel something being sucked out of him. The thing's golden eyes lost their luster, and the place seemed ten degrees cooler. "No, no, no no no no no no!" Screamed the boy when he was grabbed by the slimy being. The creature began to envelop him with its black body, pulling the blue eyed slowly, tortuously in. "Please stop! STOP! Oh no, no, no my brother! I-"

And everything went black.

 **I honestly didn't want to write the bullying part, but it was an absolute need to trigger the Puzzle's spell. I'm sorry if anyone was offended!**

 **I see Seto as a kid who grew up too fast. I'm hoping to slowly avoid this with Yami's presence.**

 **These bullies are in some serious trouble right now.**


	3. Shhhhh!

**dragonwitch250, You again! Hi! I'm glad that you're enjoying my fic until now ! :D. Yami will defintely be a little... avenging, with the people who hurt Seto and\or Mokie. A bit too avenging actually...**

 **Howl3, I'm very glad that you're liking it! I'm writting this exactly because of that reason- I couldn't find an Au like this anywhere! Tehehe, I'm not going to give away spoilers of my own fic but I'll tell you one thing: I'm a canon bitch. I love canon accuracy. I love accuracy. Accuracy in general.**

 **gracefulmiracle, Hey, I think I know you! I loved your Prideshipping fics! :D. I'm very glad that you're enjoying my fic that much! xD. The bullies will definitely have a terrible ending, but I'll try to tune the gore down, because fluff and gore don't usually mix!**

 **Should I turn this fic into Prideshipping when Seto gets older? I'm still not sure, but it could be really fun to write instead of a platonic relationship... (o\\\o)**

 **Warnings: Gore innuendos.**

He was feeling very well.

Very, very well.

That's weird. He usually just wakes up in a good mood after a good night's sleep, but the thin blankets of the orphanage kept him away from that luxury. He is a person who gets cold very easily, especially at night and he just can't sleep well without the warm, thick, furry blankets from his parents mansion tightly wrapped around him.

But now... something was different. For some reason, he felt warm and comfortable. He cringed even more over his bed and took a deep breath of satisfaction before the smell of smoke and dust made him sneeze. Grimacing, he turned and buried his head further into his warm pillow, just so the smell intensified tenfold. To make matters worse, something was persistently ruffling his hair with warm air gusts. He couldn't have one day to rest in this damn place?

"Leave me alone ..." he muttered, frustrated.

His entire bed curled around him. What the?

With a leap, Seto opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a bright yellow almondy eye winking at him.

"GAAAAAAAAH" He yelled, trying to move away, but falling over the bunk edge instead. _"Oh shit I was on the upper bed oh no no oh AAAAAGH!"_ He closed his eyes.

 **Pump.**

"W-Wha?" Murmured the blue-eyed boy, shuddering when he saw that he still had a few feet to go before hitting the ground. He grabbed the black creature's gigantic fingers firmly, swallowing hard. The beast had caught him- somehow before he shattered on the ground. Just the hand of the weird being alone involved his entire body, but fortunately, the creature wasn't squeezing him. Instead, it was carefully pulling him right back up.

"S-Such a long arm!" The little boy said with admiration. _"How in the world could anything have such a huge body? Screw that, how in the world anything like that could even exist?!"_ He thought as the creature gently placed him on the corner where the bed leaned back against the wall, retracting its arm to a smaller size.

Still trembling and frightened by the imminent fall and the huge thing looking at him from the edge of the bed, Seto wiped the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his shirt. That was when he realized with surprise that he wasn't feeling any pain. Looking at his arms, he saw no bruising. Groping his face, he felt no cuts. Even when he smelled his clothes, there was no sign of blood or debris, only a persistent and bizarre smell of smoke and dust.

Plus his teeth ... they were back !?

Hesitantly, he looked up to the huge humanoid form that was curiously examining the covers that had fallen from his bed, turning its head to the side.

"Y-you ... you did this?" He asked, gesturing to himself. The creature looked at him in confusion, before approaching slowly, soon getting face to face with the brown haired boy. **"Ghnnnn?"**

"I-I mean ... you healed me?" Seto was a little embarrassed by his clumsiness, but it was a little unnerving to stand in front of such a... unnatural being. _"I mean, it doesn't even have pupils! What's up with that? How I'm supposed to know when this thing is actually looking at me?!"_

Golden eyes closed and opened slowly. While a gurgling sound was coming out from somewhere in the body of the shadow-like thing, it nodded happily, one of the strange black tentacles that casually moved behind the creature's back suddenly curling up on the smaller one's rosy forearm.

"Hey hey hey!" Seto chided, trying to unroll the gooey appendix from his arm.

 _"Nii-sama?"_

"M-Mokuba ?!" The boy exclaimed, looking at the door.

 _"Can I go in?"_

"N-No!" Seto said, pulling the black thing by what should be its neck to try to force it to lie on the bed.

It didn't work.

"Please!" Whispered the boy, trying to push the creature down again. With a gurgling grunt, the thing relented, laying in bed. Or ... curling in bed, Seto wasn't that sure, and honestly didn't care at the time. The blue-eyed boy came down from the bunk and grabbed the blankets that had fallen before desperately, before throwing them back on his bed and going up again, covering the slimy being and trying to make it quit moaning and struggling miserably under the covers.

"Shh! Shhhh!"

"Nii-sama?"

 **"I-I'm going!** Shhh! Be quiet! Stop moving your little ... giant ..."

Seto froze when he heard the door opening. Fortunately, the creature also had frozen, then his bed seemed ... partially normal.

"Nii-sama!" The black-haired boy greeted cheerfully. Looking to his little brother, Seto felt as if a knife had suddenly pierced his chest.

The little boy had gauzes wrapped around his head, chest and legs. One of his tiny arms was immobilized with plaster, which even had some signatures of the kindest children in the orphanage already. His gray-black eyes sparkled with joy anyway, his uninjured arm waving to his older brother.

"Wow! You really gave a good beating to those guys! The other boys said that they ended up in the hospital!" Cried the child while Seto got down from the bunk, split between looking at his bed nervously and looking at Mookie in confusion.

"They ... are in the hospital?" The older boy asked. Well, that explained why their room was so empty. Stealing a glance at the covers, he widened his eyes when he saw a black tentacle swaying leisurely on the edge of the bed.

Seto stepped in front of Mokuba. "Oh, yeah, they're in the hospital! You wouldn't believe the beating that I gave them, I- they- I scared them away!" The taller one spoke nervously while he tried to push the slimy appendix right back inside. The dark tentacle began to curl around his fingers.

"Really nii-sama ?! That's so cool!" The child cried excitedly.

"Yeah, yeah!" Smiled the blue-eyed boy. "So, Mookie, umm, you shouldn't be going to class? You'll have a science test today won't you? You'd better hurry."

"Nii-saaaaamaa! There's still more than half an hour left!"

"S-So go study! Or grab a snack, you know that you can't concentrate well with an empty stomach-" Seto punched the edge of the bed, crushing the tentacle that was stroking his fingers. The boy flinched. That must have hurt.

A loud whimper made both children freeze.

"Nii-sama?"

"Damn, I'm so hungry, let's go to the dinning hall, you go first."

"But ..."

"NOW!"

"Alright, geez!" Mokuba complained before rushing out of the room.

With a relieved sigh, Seto 'locked' the door with a chair and turned to the bunk. Removing the covers, he found the creature who had healed him cowering in a corner, holding a crooked tentacle with a pain filled face.

"Are you okay?" Seto asked, feeling slightly guilty. The thing shouldn't have been curling up on him after all!

He tried to examine the twisted tentacle, but the shadow pulled it away. "Let me see it!" Demanded the boy, holding out his hand. Hesitantly, it extended the hurt appendix to the boy with a gulp, even when the blue eyed held it carefully.

"Ouch!" He muttered when he saw the damage that he had done. "Sorry ... black thing that came out of my puzzle ..." Making a mental note to look for the Puzzle later, Seto massaged the injured appendage until the creature could move it again.

"Better?" He asked when he saw the shadow swinging its tentacle happily. After seeing the being wave in confirmation, Seto came down from his bed and quickly packed up his materials to go to class. He was almost closing his backpack when he suddenly realized.

"What I'm going to do with you?" He asked, looking at the creature in his bed. He couldn't leave it on his bed like that all day, at some point someone was bound to see it. He didn't want the orphanage staff to freak out or try to kill the strange being. It seemed to be ... a nice guy. Or girl.

The shadow quietly jumped to the ground and held out something to him.

"The Puzzle!" Sighed the boy. "It was with you all along? I better hide it before someone-" The thing barred his way. "What? I'm late to class!" He was barred by the thing again. "Stop it!"

The creature did that 'no' with its head.

"You want me to take it with me, that's it?" The creature did that 'yes' with its head.

"Well, I can't! If someone see it they will want to steal it from me!"

The being gave a smile that was positively terrifying, and pushed the pyramid closer to Seto.

"Ugh, fine, but if someone tries to beat me to get this thing I swear I'll use you as a whatever-you-are shield, am I clear?"

The being waved joyfully, jumping into the smaller one's bag. Seto let out a startled shriek at the sight of the huge amount of dense smoke coming into his backpack, and hesitantly looked inside to see two small golden eyes staring at him.

"You ... you can shrink?" The thing smiled again. It was not that frightening anymore.

The boy stood still for a few seconds to let the information sink in.

Then he smiled.

"Hehehe." Seto ruffled the little thing's hair with two fingers. "Cute."

 **CHOMP!**

"OUCH! You little-!" Seto started but was interrupted by the "Get your ass in class" alarm.

"I'll get revenge. I swear." The kid said the he closed his bag and put it on. He could feel the damn giggles in his bag ans he went to class. Damn black thing.

 _ **Some hours later ...**_

The day was much easier than Seto imagined it would be. He put the bag on his lap, just in case, but didn't need to do much more than push some tentacles right back in every once in a while.

The class went well, except when he dropped one of his pencils and the shadow caught it for him. Fortunately no one seemed to notice.

Seto couldn't finish his lunch because what happened last night still was making his stomach wrap. Sighing, he looked at the cookies remaining on his hands. Then he looked at the backpack. So at his hands again.

Slowly pulling the ziper up, he put his hand inside and let the creature eat the cookies. He bit his lip to keep himself away from laughing when it started to lick his fingers. _"I hope that this kind of food won't harm it. What should I use to feed something like that anyway?"_

 **"The bodies were found in front of the local orphanage, at 6:30 am ... autopsies indicate drowning, but the experts still don't know how ... five healthy teenagers of sixteen to eighteen years ... a liquid similar to petroleum was found in the lungs of the victims ... some of the members of the youth were not found ... are still in the hospital waiting for indentification ... the bodies are unrecognizable to the owners of the orphanage ... "**

Seto looked at the TV with surprise. A murder? Right in front of the orphanage?

Shivering, the boy took his hand out of the bag. A dark, viscous liquid was now staining the palm of his hand. "Ewww!" He muttered, wiping it at the bottom of the table. Or trying to.

Leaving his place to approach the TV- A very old, low quality equipment, which sizzled annoyingly every few seconds- the blue-eyed boy adjusted the antenna with expectation. This program always aired before the morning cartoons, but that was the first time that Seto heard about a murder so close to his new home. Were they children of the orphanage, like him? The boy gulped at the thought.

 **" We don't know who the victims were, but we are pretty sure they were orphans. The bodies are so disfigured that we can't distinguish their sex, but most of their internal organs are intact. The lungs are filled with some kind of dark oil, and no, it's not petroleum, we don't know what it actually is yet. It isn't flammable and seems to be much thicker than regular oil. It's not something that any of us had ever seen before. ' Said the expert Jordan Steele. The crime scene is being examined as gigantic symbols were left behind, similar to a chess board ... with three columns that have ten squares each. The symbols were engraved on the soil ... with nearly four inch... slits marking the edges ... "**

Seto slapped the machine's top several times when static took over the screen. He was frustrated and astounded, and he needed to know what happened!

Could the victims be ...

The boy shook his head. No! Mookie said they were in the hospital!

"But he didn't say where in the hospital, did he?" Seto shook his head to get rid of thoughts-and of the tiny speck of satisfaction that plagued his mind.

The bell rang, signaling the end of recess.

 _ **Hours later,**_

Seto settled into his bed. Mokuba was already asleep when he came to their room, the little one must have had a tiring day. Other boys were already on the beds that used to be from bullies who humiliated him the day before.

This place seemed to get more and more crowded at each day.

Skyrocketing to his bed and covering himself completely with his blankets, Seto opened his backpack and let the smoky being come out. It soon was huge again, curling around the boy. The thing stretched, yawning.

"Are you ... going to just stay here? Like, with me? Don't you have somewhere else to go or something? I can't just let you living here like this forever ..."

Seto wasn't sure if the creature was listening because it was casually ruffling his hair, making random noises from time to time. Sighing, the boy put himself to sleep.

The smell of smoke and dust wasn't that unbearable anymore.

 **Their first meeting was kinda awnkard wasn't it? I like it.**

 **Huge thanks to everyone who commented and faved my fic! I honestly appreciate it ! : D**


	4. Yami

**Howl3, Thanks for commenting again! :D. Ha, that's how I like him as well! An adorable, insane little Pharaoh 3. Since both you and dragonwitch250 want Prideshipping, I'll definitely add it later! It'll take a while tho ^-^'. Yami won't be near as good as he is in the anime, so is better to expect things like last chapter's to happen every once in a while! Also, THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

 **dragonwitch250, Hey you! Prideshipping on the way! It will take a while to Seto grow up though :p. I absolutely love their fiery dynamic as well! Thank you :D!**

Two weeks had passed quickly.

Yugi didn't return since the day Seto completed the puzzle. The blue-eyed boy eagerly waited every day to return the puzzle, but the tricolor haired boy just... disappeared. The young man quickly lost hope of ever returning the golden artifact, feeling terribly guilty about it.

Seto didn't have many problems with the strange being who was now following him. The beast was weird, but kind and a nice distraction for everything that tormented his mind since the death of his parents. He only wished that it wasn't so sticky, literally. Having to take the black goo that covered the thing's body off his hands every time he touched it was starting to get tiring. It wasn't that hard to clean but it was just so _annoying_.

Biting his lip, the boy watched his little brother complain to one of the teachers about having to take his pain medicine every two hours. Seto felt filthy knowing that he should be in a worse state than Mokie but was unharmed, feeling no pain while the little boy suffered the consequences for his actions.

Feeling something wet and slimy going up his arm, the brown-haired boy quickly pushed the tentacle back into his backpack before thinking:

 _"If that black thing could heal me so easily, maybe it can... heal Mokie as well? I would have to find a way to keep his mouth shut though ..."_ Seto shuddered. _"Maybe is not THAT of a good idea but still ..."_

"Mokuba? Could you come here for a second?"

The black haired boy trotted happily to his older brother, smiling.

"Nii-sama?"

Looking sideways, Seto bent down and asked, "Would you like to take this plaster off right now and to stop taking these medicines within today?"

The little boy blinked, confused. "Of course, but I can't do this until I'm completely healed, Nii-sama."

Smiling, Seto pulled Mokie's uninjured hand and led him to the room they shared.

"Okay, it's settled then. Now you'll just have to promise me that you will. Not. Scream."

Mokuba swallowed hard. "Why ...?"

"Just promise me."

"Al ... Alright. I promise." The little boy said nervously, wondering what his brother could have planned for him. It couldn't be anything good.

Seto opened the door as quietly as possible, going slowly in and locking it with his trusty chair after Mokie entered. Climbing up the bunk and clutching his covers, he turned to his little brother. "Remember your promise Mookie."

The black-haired boy nodded.

Seto pulled the covers with a quick jerk, and the being under the same jumped from fright, blinking it's yellow eyes. When looking at the black-haired little boy that came along with the blue-eyed boy, it froze. Mokuba's eyes widened and he froze as well, staring the living shadow that was quietly sitting on his brother's bed.

"GAAAAAAAH!"

 **"GRAAAAAAH!"**

"No! No! No! No! You two! Calm down!" Seto jumped in front of the stressed creature, trying to keep it in bed while his little brother did nothing to help by continuing to scream and cry incomprehensible phrases while pointing to the giant gooey shadow.

Mookie had walked backwards to the wall, still pointing to the being who was desperately moving in the upper bed. The blue-eyed boy strongly shivered as the room's temperature was suddenly _freezing_.

"W-What is this thing !? Please tell me that you're seeing it !"

 _"Yes, I can see it!"_ Seto said with effort as he tried to keep the gluey being in bed, holding it by the neck with both arms. His tiny members weren't even able to make the turn around the creature's neck, which slipped from his grasp easily, but didn't dare to get out of bed, looking at Mokuba with a mixture of surprise, concern and suspicion. The thing had calmed from the scare the little boy gave it quickly, and was now urging to examine this possible threat more closely, but Seto didn't seem to want him to come closer from that... small thing, which was making him very frustrated and uncomfortable.

A deep growl began to be emitted from the creature's chest, but it didn't move from it's place. If the blue-eyed boy was insisting that it should stop, who was it to disagree.

"Thank GOD!" Seto cried with relief when the shadow _finally_ stopped struggling.

His heavy breathing was appearing in the air like little pale clouds in the cold room's atmosphere, even if the sun was shining intensely on the outside.

Still panting, he looked at his little brother, who was trembling against the wall. He tried to calm him down. "Mokie, calm down, it's not gonna bite you."

The thing smiled a dark yellow smile full of black teeth.

"I-I don't think so!"

Patting the head of the black being, Seto scolded: _"Don't!",_ making the gooey thing lament miserably. Turning to his little brother, he said:

"It can heal any wound."

"You're kidding right?"

The brown-haired boy looked at Mokuba with a ' I seem to be kidding?' face.

"But what if it tries to eat me ?!"

"I won't try to eat you Mokuba." The blue eyed sighed.

The shadow tried to approach again. Seeing that the creature had calmed down, Seto let it jump out of bed and move towards the smaller boy.

 **"N-Nii-sama !"**

"Calm down Mookie! It's not gonna hurt you!"

Mokuba gasped when the shadow towered over him, pinning him against the wall. Seto was also feeling the concern pounding in his chest, but he recognized the actions of the dark being. It was putting it's hand on the head of the black-haired boy, just as he had done before with Seto himself. Mokuba looked terrified, but the thing suddenly was completely relaxed, and as a result, the room's temperature quickly returned to normal.

 **"N-Nii-sama ! It's trying to eat me!"** Mokuba screamed as the creature began to envelop him with it's black body.

"No, that's the normal Mokie. Just relax." Seto explained, even though he was also startled at the sight. Swallowing hard, he waited until Mokie was completely absorbed before approaching.

The shadow was firmly wrapped around his little brother, golden eyes unfocused in concentration. Seto didn't know how he knew that it's eyes were unfocused ... they just were.

Tense minutes passed slowly. The creature didn't move. Not even a bit. Seto started to get more and more nervous as the minutes passed, nervously playing with his fingers.

Finally, the black being got off the child, revealing a unconsious Mookie. The brown-haired boy quickly ran to his little brother, relieved to see that the bandages and plaster had disappeared and the boy seemed to be completely healed. It would be hard to explain to the teachers but okay. With a cheerful smile, Seto began to shake the smaller boy.

"Mokie! Mokie!" He encouraged. Mokuba squinted before rubbing his head, rising slowly. Black-greyish eyes blinked in confusion with the lack of the throbbing pain that had plagued his head the last few days, and then he jumped, realizing that he was massaging his head with the arm that _should_ be broken and immobile.

The boy stood up, examining his body with surprise and admiration. "It worked ... _it worked !"_ He started jumping happily, glad to be able to move freely again.

 _"Thank you !"_ Mookie said before jumping in the solid shadow, knocking it against the wall. The dark thing blinked several times as it held the little boy to stop him from falling.

Seeing the thing carefully putting his brother back to the ground, Seto came closer with a proud face.

"I _said_ that it could heal you!"

"Yeah! It's so cool!" Mokuba said cheerfully as he played with the viscous creature's soft body. "It's so soft too! And ugh ... slimy ... what is it?"

"I don't know." The taller boy replied, blushing. When approaching, he patted the soft head of the weird thing. "It's pretty friendly though. I like it. This thing I mean. Not friendly things. They anger me."

Mokie chuckled with his brother's phrase before saying, "Wouldn't it be easier if we knew from which sex it is? Thus we won't have to call it 'it'. Try to rool it over, look between it's legs or something. "

"It doesn't have legs."

"Oh." Mokuba murmured, as if he hadn't noticed it before. "But it _has_ to have a peepee or whatever girls have... it also has to pee doesn't it? It doesn't look much like a girl though..."

"I've met lots of girls who don't look like girls."

"But ... I just ... I don't know ... I don't think that it's a girl ... Try to search for something Seto!"

"Why me ?!"

"Because it's less likely to bite you! I've just meet it!"

"Less likely ?!"

"It's important Seto! Do it for us! Do it for science!"

Swallowing hard, the older boy whispered, "For science... For science, you hear me?" Before approaching the creature who was watching the conversation with it's head turned to the side in confusion.

"Don't bite me ..." He almost begged to be black thing before pushing his hands on the creature's bottom. It was similar to the serpentine body of a snake with some kind of dark cloud that followed it wherever it went. Seto heard the creature drop some uneasy sounds but the thing didn't bite him, even though it was obviously showing that it did not appreciate the invasion of privacy.

After groping the being for a long while, the boy walked away with a confused face.

"I didn't feel anything." He explained to his brother as he got rid of the sticky black liquid that had filled his hands. Mokuba held his chin thoughtfully.

"It's a girl then?"

"Girls have something. We just don't know what it is. And hopefully never will." Seto shuddered at the thought.

"So it's really a it?"

"It's the only answer."

The two brothers were quiet for a long time, thinking about the thing.

"Can we keep it?"

"No." Was the immediate answer. "It's not a pet. Look at it. It has ... arms and hair and ... looks like a person. It's going to go away at some point, back to it's family or something."

The two fell silent as sad memories filled their thoughts.

"For how long it was with you?"

"About two weeks."

They were silent again, looking at the being who looked back at them, it's eyes still narrowed with irritation.

Mokuba abruptly smiled a smile that lit up the room.

"Nii-sama! If it's in the orphanage, it's obviously an orphan like us! And if it doesn't have a family, _**can we keeeep it ?!"**_

Seto blinked in surprise. He had never thought that way. The thing came out of his- no, Yugi's Puzzle. It had to be linked to it somehow. If it even had a family, it's family _should've_ been in the Puzzle as well. But It didn't return to the Puzzle. Not even once. So...

"You really _are_ like us!" Seto said with emotion, smiling.

"YAY!" Mokuba jumped with happiness. "It'll be great! This thing will be like our HUGE fluffy cat!"

His brother turned to him in confusion. "A... cat? Why a cat?"

"Well, it doesn't scare you, and you're afraid of dogs."

"I'm NOT afraid of dogs! Just because I ran from this **huge** rottweiler _one time_ , you and dad kept-"

"It was a poodle."

"Details!" Seto rolled his eyes in irritation.

"You want details? You ran _crying_ from the neighbor's _tiny dressed_ poodle!"

 **"SHUT UP Mokuba!"**

A deep laught kept Seto from strangling his _dead_ little brother. He blushed deeply when he saw his new pet laughing so hard that it began to lean agaist the wall.

"Mokuba! OUT OF MY ROOM! OUT! NOW!"

"But that's also my-"

 **"OUT!"**

The little boy's laughter filled the hallways of the orphanage while Seto closed the door. The angry blue-eyed boy looked at the creature still laughing.

 _ **"And you!**_ **Shut up!"**

Several hours later, when Seto had calmed down, he and his brother were sitting on the bottom bed of the bunk, looking to be dark thing.

"We should name it Yami."

"Hmm. Yami is a good name for it. Unisex as well."

Both breathed a sigh of relief to finally agreeing on a name. They were thinking about it for _hours_. Neither agreed with the ideas of other- Mokuba was still bitter because his brother didn't let the name of the thing be 'Kitty' while Seto was still nervous that Mokie didn't accept the name 'Killer'. How that name didn't fit the 'thing's profile' ?! He was sure that it could kill if it needed!

Yami was sleeping on the top bunk when they finally decided. The brothers looked at him.

"Maybe we could find what it is in que computer. Y'know, the one that's on the receptionist's desk."

"But we will be in trouble if they see us ..."

" **If** they see us."

"Ummm ..." Mokuba whispered nervously. He didn't like to break the orphanage's rules, the teachers shouted at him because of it.

"C'mon, Mokie, trust me. We just have to wait until it's bed time and sneak to her desk. Then we'll search quickly on the computer and get back in a wink, no one will ever know that we left. "

"Okay, Nii-sama." Said the boy, more relaxed.

Only after all the lights went out, hours later, Seto and Mokie left the room as quietly as they could, wincing every time the old wood creaked underneath their feet. Yami followed them silently, sliding out of the blankets, crawling across the floor and passing under the door in a way that none of the other boys who slept in the room were disturbed.

Mokuba grabbed Seto's shirt, shivering with the cold that seeped through the thin orphanage uniform and the darkness that dominated the long corridor. He almost cried when two bright yellow eyes opened in the darkness ahead.

Seto gave a whispered rebuke to the creature that wailed softly before continuing to 'walk' with the boys, floating above them. Seto had no choice but to accept, it was too late to Yami go back alone now. After several tense minutes, they finally arrived at the receptionist's desk. Seto sat anxiously at the computer, his fingers tingling to type on a real keyboard again.

The three quivered when the computer announced its ligament with a extremely high song, the Windows startup music echoing through the 's body became extremely creepy with the sudden melody.

While Mokuba soothed their pet, Seto opened the Google and searched:

 **'huge black shady supernatural being'**

"Hmmm ..." He squinted at the screen. "You don't look like a Hellhound, you're black, but not a dog ..."

"Thank God, eh Nii-sama?" Mokuba giggled before being slapped on his back. "Ouch!"

 **"Shut. Up. Mokuba."** Seto said with poison before turning to the screen again.

"The ... Lurking Shadow People?" They both looked at Yami in evaluation before Seto opened the page.

As they read the page's text, the little boys began to get more and more terrified at every minute. Seto read the entire contents aloud, ignoring the scientific explanation and, coming to the end of the page, they were met with one of the many images that decorated the explanations.

"I-It's it! It's just like Yami! Only without the creepy yellow eyes ..." Mokuba said as quietly as he could, still shaking with the things he had heard. The little boy buried himself in the warm, soft body of Yami, who blinked and looked at him with it's big bright eyes. Mokie smiled at the love and kindness fluttering within the flaming holes. It was nothing like these people said. It couldn't be.

"So Yami's a ghost ..." Seto muttered under his breath, wondering what kind of ghost Yami might be. It wasn't mean, It didn't scared them not even once, not on purpose at least, and was able to heal wounds. It did not fit with any of the examples given by the site, showing scary, violent and vengeful beings ... Why?

They reread the text several times, but their pet just did not seem to fit into any of the categories in particular. Yami had nothing that resembled those ghosts unless it's appearance.

"Maybe Yami is just special. Like the ghost of that boy who only plays with the animals and doesn't hurt anyone." Mokuba spoke fondly when Seto pointed that out to him. The little black-haired boy had begun to turn pale as he looked around the place, probably still frightened by the stories he heard. Sighing, Seto realized that Mokie probably will have nightmares tonight. Damn it.

Suddenly, the blue-eyed boy smiled. "Mokie." He said, gaining the shorter one's attention. His smile grew. "Let's search for our new 'dad'"

Confused, the boy with black hair blinked several times, as well as the black ghost where he had hidden in. "Our new 'dad'? But we can't choose one, Nii-sama, they are the ones who choose us." The usually cheerful eyes of the little boy became dark with sadness. "In fact, choose _you_." He murmured, hiding his watery eyes by turning his face.

Seto made a nervous grimace when his suggestion had the opposite effect than expected. Leaving the chair, he stroked the face of his little brother , who was still buried deep in the gigantic dark being's warm body. "No, no, no, we _can_ choose a dad. I know we can. Trust me. I said Yami could heal you and it could, couldn't it?"

Mokuba nodded, trying to keep his sobs in and his tears from running down his face. But it was too late, Seto was already dabbing them with his fingertips and Yami had begun to mutter something so the resulting vibrations could calm down the little boy that was huddled in it's body. Mokie smiled when he felt them.

"This year, many rich people will visit us here in the orphanage, because of some 'charity event' or something. People like actresses, artists, politicians and even CEOs of various corporations. We'll make them adopt us, both of us. And then we'll take their place of them and use their money to build those amusement parks we did that day in the sand, all over the world, so that all children like us can have fun for free and smile again, even for a short period of time. " The blue-eyed boy said, thrilled with his own plan. A big smile was shining in his face after the little speech.

Mokuba's eyes shone like the sun among the clouds.

"S-Seriously, Nii-sama? That's so cool !" It was obvious that the child wanted to scream it as loud as he could, but they were still in the hallway, so he had to settle for an excited whisper. Yami gave the same huge smile from before, letting a loud purring show it's appreciation.

"I told you that we should've named it 'Kitty'."

"Shut up, Mokuba."

Seto was about to close the current page when a sentence in the left corner caught his eye:

 **"...female shadow-ghosts are usually grayer than the males. They are also rarer and less-likely to approach a living being, but beware. Males frequently appear with a deep shade of black, and most of the time have bigger and brighter red eyes..."**

"Yami is a guy!" Seto said with satisfaction, ruffling the smoky ghost's hair when he came closer to take a look on the screen.

"How do you know that?" Mokuba said in confusion.

"He's black and has huge eyes. If he was a girl he should be gray and have smaller eyes."

"Ohh! Cool! I was sick of calling him 'it'!"

"Yeah." Smiled the taller kid. "Now let's search for our new 'daddy'." He announced before searching for the important people who should visit the orphanage during that year. A list of twelve people appeared, showing the profession of each one and some of their personal lifes.

"Hmmm ..." he whispered as he passed his eyes across the screen. "I have to choose someone who is really fixed in something that I also can do ... I need something to challenge them with ..."

It seemed that no one interesting would visit them because Seto hadn't found any hobbie that he could use to challenge these people until he saw the last person of the list- which would visit them in December.

"Perfect!" He smiled, seeing that the man was a CEO and was addicted to chess. The profession looked nice to him and he used to play chess a lot with his parents.

"Mokie, in December we will met our new dad." Seto smiled at his brother before getting up from the chair and starting to turn off the computer.

The deafening sound of a woman's voice announcing the update of the virus definitions made Yami jump, a third eye quickly appearing on his forehead. The room became cold as the ghost attacked the computer, pushing it off the table before any of the brothers could do something to stop him.

The machine made a loud bang when it fell on the ground and immediately all the lights in the hallways lit up. Steps were rapidly approaching both the in right and in the left, making the brothers become pale with fear.

With his entire body bristling, the black being grabbed the two brothers and jumped out the window, breaking the glass in the process. He desperately slid across the courtyard until he found Seto and Mokie's window to their room, but the blue-eyed boy began to struggle within him, causing him to stop and let them go.

Gasping in relief when he saw that the glass was still intact, Seto pushed the window up and let Mokuba and Yami jump\slide in before entering himself.

The ghost quickly skyrocketed in the bunk bed and hid under the covers while Seto and Mookie still were panting with fright. They could still hear the orphanage staff arguing and desperately running through the halls, which made them nervous and insecure.

The bigger boy was about to climb into his bed when his brother grabbed his arm. "Seto ... sleep with me. Please." the little boy said, doing his best to let his puppy eyes irresistible.

Seto wanted to deny but sighed in defeat. He couldn't blame Mookie to be frightened by the things he had heard, it was his own fault after all. While the black-haired boy cheerfully put himself to sleep, the blue-eyed boy pulled the covers of his own bed until two huge yellow eyes appeared on the edge of the top bed. He also didn't want to feel unprotected, after all.

"C'me here." Seto asked, patting Mokie mattress. Yami shoved his 'claws' on the bottom of the top bed and came down by the wall before curling around the two small boys, occupying most of the space.

The older boy covered them before putting himself to sleep too, smiling when he felt the gigantic creature breathing quietly around him and heard his little brother laughing about how soft the sticky body was. Sleep came quickly for the two boys.

They didn't had nightmares that night.

 **This chap may be HUGE but don't get used to it! ;-;.**

 **Any guesses of who is the 'chosen daddy'?**

 **Yami finally has a name and a gender! That's a HUGE relief to me. ^-^;**

 **And I would like to thank so. Much. Everyone who commented, faved, and followed my fic. Seriously, it means a whole lot! 3.**

 **Oh, Seto's search actually works on real life. The site was pretty creepy O.o. The gender differences are mine though :). Check it out if you want to know about the shadow guys.**


	5. Unholy Guardian

**Oh God, I'm so sorry for taking so long to update! I had so many school tests and a writer's block, but here it is! Finally! (So sorry guys. And it got long again. Sigh.)**

 ** _dragonwitch250_ , thanks! Here's the next chap! ;)**

 ** _Howl3_ , hehehe, I've always thought about how anyone would know Yami's sex without Yugi around if he was in 'shadow form' like in this fic! ^-^;. Hahaha! That would have been priceless, but he needs to learn how to talk first! He will gradually turn in his real self, but he has a lot to learn and needs to see Yugi at least one time until then. So yeah, it will take a good while, especially since I want to add some orphanage!fluff before Gozaburo arrives. (I kinda wonder how long he will be around too. :p)**

 **This one will be probably the last one before Gozaburo appears.**

 **(If anyone wants to play the game Yami plays in this chap, just google: C** **ircle the Cat** **. It can help you to understand what the heck Yami did down there! xD)**

 **Warnings: Gore. Not THAT bad but. Gore. Bad language. Angry Yami.**

It has been some months.

Seto and Mokie quickly become accustomed to add Yami into their routine.

They would wake up, go brush their teeth with the other boys, get back to the room and play jokenpo to decide who would take Yami in the backpack in the morning. After that would be the recess, where they would take the time to stop and study what exactly their dark ghost was. At lunch Yami would switch backpacks and would get a bit of the two brothers' food before they get back to class. After school, everyone showered and spent the rest of the afternoon doing whatever they wanted. Seto preferred to study the best ways to challenge his new 'father' but he also used this time to bathe Yami every once in a while, with the gardener's hoses. The spirit didn't like it at all, but the boys had fun playing with the soap and laughing at the hilarious sight that was a wet Yami.

The days were being much brighter for the two orphans. Having this new 'pet' to distract them and play with helped to keep their stress levels very low. Besides that, Yami made them feel safe. Even with the many horrific killings that were taking place uncomfortably near- and sometimes even inside-the orphanage, they weren't afraid to go out and play outside, especially now that everyone else was terrified with the situation and they had privacy enough to let Yami out to get some fresh air.

"Where did Yami go?" Seto asked Mokie, sighing when leaving his chair. He was reading about this Gozaburo guy for months! Even after having studied him and his strategies to the point of exhaustion, the old man seemed to have no weaknesses! With a grunt of disgust, he threw the book 'Best Chess Players of All Time' with violence on the old man wasn't so high in the rankings for nothing.

"He's sunbathing on the roof." Said Mokuba, distracted with the Little Red Riding Hood puzzle he was assembling. "I left him there since no one is going out to play or see the sunset anymore." The boy rolled his eyes. "It's like they think that the murderer will sudenly jump out the wall and kill them or something!"

Nodding to the little boy, Seto left the room through the window, which had become a more frequent route for the brothers than the door itself.

The blue-eyed boy climbed up the fire escape attached to the building's side. Getting to the roof, he saw his pet ghost stretched across the wooden extent. "Yami!" He called, approaching him.

Two golden eyes opened lazily, blinking. Slowly, the dark being stood up, stretched and wrapped himself around the smaller being, purring as a sign of affection. Smiling, Seto pushed him lightly. "Come on, let's go down, it's getting late."

Yami entered the smaller's backpack with a disapproving groan, but without much resistance. The brown-haired boy got down quickly but wasn't able to return to his room before a voice made him stop.

"Hey kid!" Seto winced before slowly turning to the policeman who ran up to him. "Uhhh ... Yes sir?" He murmured, holding the straps of his backpack tighter.

The man shook his head and scolded him for being out of his room at the nightfall. "There is a violent killer in the neighborhood." He emphasized. "For your own safety, stay inside the building. Me and my colleagues are investigating a new case, right next door. If you see something or someone suspicious don't hesitate in calling us."

Seto nodded quickly, wanting to get back to his room as fast as possible. Yami was already twitching nervously in his backpack and he didn't want the spirit to get angry. Once the policeman had finished speaking, the boy went out as fast as he could.

The man grabbed his arm. Before any of them could do anything, a loud growl was issued by the kid's backpack. Seto pulled his bag to his chest, thanked the police and ran to his room before the man could say nothing else.

'Locking' his room's door, Seto leaned against the wall and sank down to the ground, panting from running so fast. Mokuba, who was still trying to piece together the last pieces of the puzzle, looked at him.

"Nii-sama? Is something wrong?" The boy asked with concern. "Where's Yami?"

The boy with blue eyes opened his backpack, and the spirit came out like a whirlwind, prowling the room like he was extremely stressed about something and making the bedroom's temperature decrease with his bad mood.

 **"Grrrr ... gaaaargh ..."**

Startled, Mokie attempted to calm the creature, without success. "What happened Seto? I've never seen Yami act like this!"

"I don't know! He seemed calm a few minutes ago but-" The small kid stopped to put his hand on his arm, which was throbbing slightly. He slowly connected the dots and murmured, embarrassed: ". I think... he thought that... that guy wanted to hurt me..."

"Huh?"

Seto spent the next few minutes explaining to his little brother what had happened. Mokuba's eyes widened with recnoziment.

"Dawww, he's worried about you!" Teased the little boy. Seto rolled his eyes.

"This killer thing is more serious than I thought. These cops are practically living with us." The older one changed the subject while making the spirit stop moving around the room, drawing him to the bed with some honey cookies. When Yami was close enough, Seto began to stroke him in the back of his head, knowing that this would calm the ghost down.

"That's because there have been many murders around here, and all the victims were people who came here at least once during the last few months. Teachers, staff, some bullies ..."

"Only people who deserve it, huh?"

 _"Nii-sama!"_

"Mokuba, you know that all the victims weren't good people. The boy who stole your lunch, the crazy teacher who used to slap me, the janitor who locked people in the supply closet ... even if they didn't deserve to _die_ , none of them was a saint." The blue-eyed boy said, a frown marring his features.

The dark ghost began to purr on his lap.

Someone tried to open the door that wouldn't open because of the heavy chair that was holding it's handle.

"Argh, not again!" Cried a young voice behind the door. "Seto! Let us in! You're pissing us off already!"

Yami desperately crawled under the covers while Seto got down the bed quickly. "I'm going!" He complained, pulling the chair with some difficulty to let his roommates in. The two boys entered grimacing, and the smallest one immediately began to complain:

"Why you always do this ?! This room is for all of us! It's not as if we had something to hide!"

"Me and Mokie just like to have privacy, that's all. You and the others are out all day anyway, why we can't even lock the door in peace?"

Sighing an angry sigh, the bald boy ran his hand over his smooth head. "You know what? We'll just get our earphones and get out. wants to give another talk in the refectory tonight."

"Oh no ..." Seto and Mokie groaned simultaneously. Mrs. Meishin was an extremely superstitious woman who insisted that the several heinous murders that were happening in the neighborhood were a work of ghosts and evil spirits. The lectures she gave in the refectory were usually just nonsense as ways to defend against spirits or the like. The brown haired boy shivered as he remembered that this sort of thing could actually hurt his newest friend.

"You better hurry up, we should be there a few minutes ago." He said the other boy, narrowing his eyes to Seto. The blue-eyed kid smiled an embarrassed grin before grabbing his backpack and throwing it under the covers of his bed. Those cookies should keep Yami at bay until the lecture ends.

The two young roommates looked at each other and shrugged before leaving. Mokuba was still trying to complete his puzzle, muttering angrily.

"C'mon Mokie." Seto insisted, pulling the little boy away from the game.

The lecture went as normal. Incenses, coarse salt, garlic, holy water ... the woman again dictated the 'weapons' available and how to use them. The brown-haired boy was about to fall asleep when she called a man to stand in front of the kids.

"Children, this is Kyandoru. The best hunter of supernatural beings who I could find. He'll inspect the rooms and expel whatever is the thing that is killing our loved ones." The teacher said with a frightfully akin to relief tone.

Seto could feel ice knives tearing his chest.

Looking at Mokie, the blue-eyed kid noticed that his little brother had the same horrified look on his face.

 _"Yami!"_

"Inspect all the rooms... it won't be necessary, Miss. Meishin." The blond man said while turning on a strange device that looked like a measurer. "I already know that whatever it is, is in the east wing of the building. A large concentration of paranormal activity was concentrated primarily in this region, and that's where I will start hunting." Kyandoru turned and headed straight toward Seto and Mokie's room, who were looking at him with wide eyes.

All children were anxious, wanting to follow the hunter, but the woman didn't let them leave the room. Mokuba looked at his brother, who was sounding buckets with wide eyes filled with fear. He narrowed his eyes.

"GAAAAAAAH"

The brown-haired boy jumped when his younger brother suddenly fell to the ground, screaming his lungs out. For Seto was obvious that the boy wasn't hurt, but soon everyone had approached to see what was happening.

Quickly realizing what Mokie was doing, Seto smiled and ran after the hunter while no one was looking. "Thank you Mokie..." He thanked as he ran desperately through the halls.

When he arrived in his room, the door was already open. He bursted in his bedroom as a scream sounded through the walls.

The blond man had thrown Yami's blankets away and was holding a long iron bar, coated with salt. His green eyes were focused on the ghost, who had adopted a threatening position on the bed, the tips of his fingers becoming sharp and his black teeth getting frighteningly pointy. A deep and hate-filled growl was being emitted from the spirit's chest, and his golden eyes shone with anxiety and irritation. The room was _freezing_ , but what actually made the little boy shudder was the noise of all escape routes slamming and bolting around the room, locking them inside.

 _"Ghn!"_ The hunter shook the dangerous piece of iron towards Yami as fast as he could, but the spirit shot out of bed as a dark smoke, curling up around the man's legs and making him lose his balance.

 _"Gah!"_ Kyandoru growled as his back hit the frozen floor. Gritting his teeth, he struck the dark being that had towered over him with the salted bar, tearing a hideous cry of pain off the creature who was pushed by the blow. A wet sound echoed in the room when the soft body crushed against the wall. Yami leaned weakly on his huge black hands, a gruesome golden cut caused by the harmful salt now open on his belly, making the liquid gold inside his body drain quietly to the cold ground. The precious substance froze instantly. A miserable sound was emitted from the being's throat, but he rose again even so, his eyes burning with fury.

Seto couldn't prevent a small cry from escaping his throat as those menacing eyes turned to him. Yami's face went from deadly hatred to terror and anxiety just as golden eyes met blue gems. **"Ghraah...!"**

The blond man laughed when he was finally aware of Seto's presence. "Watch and learn boy!" And he shook his weapon again, striking the ghost in the arm while the creature was too busy looking at his little friend in fear and shock.

A painful roar crossed with a wretched cry echoed in the dark room. Laughing, the hunter pulled the iron bar from Yami's flesh, leaving the spirit torn and trembling on the ground while he cleaned the stick golden liquid away from his bar with a white cloth. "These are my favorites." He said. "It's always more fun to finish them yourself- and manually."

Seto wanted to deny it, he wanted to ask the man to stop, but no word was rising in his throat. The deep cuts... the horrendous injuries on his newest friend left him paralyzed. He didn't want to lose him. He **couldn't** lose him.

Pictures from his parents after the accident flashed behind his eyes again. The lack of an arm. The cuts on the belly.

Feeling his friend's fear, Yami's bulky body became hard and spiky as a third eye blinked bright on his forehead. The atmosphere of the room became just as dark and dense as the deepest ocean, and all that was still visible were several geometric shapes... hexagonal shapes, whose edges shone with a yellow glow across the entire dark room's lenght.

The place suddenly seemed much, much bigger.

With an insane smile, the hunter took a large bag of salt off the bag he was carrying and threw a handful towards the creature. Yami dodged it, and all the hexagons where the salt touched became completely colored with a golden color, forcing Yami to a certain direction. "Heh!" Kyandoru scoffed. "You're the type who likes to play little games? I don't need to lose time with it to blow you away!"

Seto observed trembling while the hunter tossed more and more salt in the towards the spirit, who avoided it easily, never touching the hexagons where the salt settled. Before long, it became obvious that this was a game that the hunter could ever win. With a few drops of sweat running down his face, he turned to Seto, and smiled.

"Sorry kid. I need to buy some time."

With those words, he ran to the boy who was huddled against the wall and threw him toward the ghost roughly- a distraction so he could straighten his weapons properly.

The blue-eyed child reached the bulky black body with a scream, finally regaining his senses. A sigh escaped his lips as he turned to his pet, a huge smile opening across his face.

"Yam-" Seto stopped when he saw the crazed look inside the normally warm yellow eyes. The sight of so much anger in such a gentle being left the brown haired one with a cold shiver down his spine. The creature's third eye flashed with rage and hatred as he wrapped the small body protectively with his gluey body, dark tentacles crackling on the floor. An animalistic growl was thrown towards the hunter, drops of black saliva staining the ground like water while the spirit slowly, ominously got out of the playing board that had been completely colored, announcing his victory it the moment Seto was thrown in the game.

The blond man was apparently setting an water gun... whatever it was, it didn't stop the gigantic creature of darkness, which carefully let Seto leave his dense body before moving to give the hunter his well deserved punishment.

Kyandoru was waiting for it.

"Holy water, bitch." He muttered as he aimed directly between the spirit's eyes with a manic smile. The ghost's golden mouth opened even further, sharp teeth on display, ready for slaughter.

"STOP IT!"

Seto wasn't sure for whom he was saying it.

Yami hesitated, but the hunter didn't miss a beat.

The holy water trickled harmlessly by the creature's face.

"I-It did nothing ?!"

The already strange features of the ghost became distorted with rage. With a furious roar, Yami grabbed the man's leg before he could escape and bit him down hard on the stomach. The creature's mouth was so big that it was able to hold the hunter's entire upper body up and inside as he shook his head from side to side, reveling in the blood that began to fill his mouth.

The blue-eyed boy who was huddled several feet behind had his eyes wide with fear and terror. "S-STOP!" He cried, hiding his head between his legs to try to drown out the man that was being split in half horrifying cries of pain. **"STOP!"**

For the first time since they met, Yami hearkened not.

Crushing one leg of the hunter who was desperately trying to kick him away on the ground until satisfactory crack sounds reached his ears, Yami turned his head so hard he tore the man in the middle, spreading his interiors all over the room. Red covered the floor and walls. The ghost spat out the man's upper body away, and it struggled for a few seconds with gurgling screams before actually dying.

Golden eyes admired his work before the massive body shook up like a wet dog would do, spreading even more of the hot liquid over the previously impeccable room.

With a happy huff, he turned to Seto, his bright eyes blinking innocently.

 **Aaaaand, cliffhanger. Sorry ;-;.**

 **(I'll try to don't do it again!) I still have many tests to go (Physics...*shivers*) so don't hope to see me again soon. I'll try to show up here again as fast as I can, but don't wait for me! (T-T)**

 **(Any guesses of why the Holy Water didn't work in our beloved pharaoh? :)**


	6. Gozaburo

_**Howl3,**_ **I'm starting to love you! xD. (I really like the 'Yami pretending to be innocent' thing, so I added it here ^ ^;). The Holy Water is a weapon against demons. Demons are the personification of the evil and wicked. Therefore, the Holy Water only works against evil monsters like them. Yami doesn't kill just for the hell (lol) of it, he was just trying to protect Seto and himself. He isn't evil, so, Holy Water doesn't work on him ;). You'll see how Seto reacts in this chap, but as promised, Gozaburo makes his first appearence here, in the very very end. :p**

 _ **gracefulmiracle,**_ **Hi again! Hehehe, Pet!Yami is my favorite thing to write, exactly because of that reason. (I'm very glad that you guys are worried about Seto, because it was awfully traumatizing indeed!) And thank you!**

 _ **liron-aria,**_ **Yay! A new person! :D. I'm glad that you like Psycho!Yami as well, since he won't be going away for quite a while! Seto and Mokie will have him for as long as they keep the Puzzle, so everything will (or should be) fine!**

* * *

"Nii-sama..."

"No!"

"Nii-sama! Let us in!"

"NO!"

Mokuba sighed, touching his forehead on the closed door from the supply closet. His brother had been hidden inside it from nearly two hours, and refused to let him or Yami know what was wrong. Apparently Yami did something to the guy that was hunting him and Seto was frightened.

Stroking their ghostly pet's smoky hair, Mokie consoled:

"Easy, easy. Seto is just being stubborn like usual."

The spirit whimpered softly. His huge almond shaped eyes were facing the floor in sorrow as he miserably scratched the wooden door. He seemed depressed.

Biting his lip, the little boy tried again:

"C'mon, Seto! Yami can't have done something THAT bad!"

" **NO!** You have _**no idea**_ of what it has done! Get away from it!" The blue-eyed boy yelled through the door. Seto shrank further against the wall, trying to get the horrible images out of his head.

"Nii-sama! How rude!" Mokuba exclaimed in shock. "Yami is our friend! We can't call him like that! And you're being mean! He didn't do anything wrong since we met and the first time he does you turn your back on him? Remember what daddy always used to say! "

 _ **"Daddy is- !"**_

Seto bit the words before they left his mouth. Mokie didn't know. He didn't know that when someone gets too hurt they fall flat in a sleep from which they can never wake up. Mokie didn't know that they were trapped in this orphanage. That their parents would never come back to get them.

"-in the hospital. I know, Nii-sama." Mokuba sighed. "This doesn't mean that we can disobey him though!"

The ghost began to scratch the door with more force, a loud wail being issued from his throat.

 **"No! G-Get away!"**

"Nii-sama ..." The black-haired boy pleaded. "Don't you recognize this sound? It's the same sound he kept repeating throughout the day where he accidentally broke my arm..." (1)

"..."

"Nii-sama ... he's saying that he's sorry."

"..."

"I ... I don't care ... I need ... I need to be alone for a while ..."

Sighing, Mokie insisted one last time: "Just think about it Nii-san ... Yami can't have done something that bad for no reason. I'm sure that you aren't thinking enough..."

Pulling the depressed spirit by the arm, the small kid led him away from the door, still closed tightly, trying not to feel bad about the way the creature looked back miserably with pain dripping from his eyes.

Seto was still huddled against the wall of the supply closet, but he couldn't help but ruminate on what his brother had said.

 _"He can't have done something that bad for no reason ..."_

Pressing his forehead against his knees, he shook his head repeatedly.

"S-Still ... he shoudn't have ... he couldn't have ..."

The guy was there to murder him. Yami was just defending himself.

"But _still_ ..."

Would he feel better if the man had murdered Yami instead of being killed in front of his eyes?

...

"No..."

So why he felt so... like that? Yami never had been a threat to him or to his little brother, and only acted in self-defense. He had nothing to fear.

But...

"That ... That was so scary ..."

* * *

Mokuba sighed when Yami rejected his cookies again. Stroking the thick, black hair, he insisted:

"Come on, Yami! Big Brother can be pretty mean sometimes but he loves us, and won't be hiding for too long!"

With a gurgling sound, the ghost finally accepted the snack, chewing slowly. His eyes were still staring at the floor, and he didn't move by the walls or or made something float as usual for a while... but at least he was eating, that's a good sign.

The little boy climbed up on his brother's futon to pick up the bag that was under the covers. The orphanage staff had changed his, Seto's and the other boys' room after the incident, and now they didn't have bunk beds anymore. Most of the children in the orphanage including the other boys with whom the brothers shared a room were still trying to pry information from teachers, but the building was packed with dozens of cops and desperate detectives trying to figure out what happened, so the search wasn't being very fruitful. Adding a hysterical Meishin teacher and a crazy manager to the equation, the result was pure chaos.

With a sigh, Mokie pulled the puzzle out of the bag and handed it to his pet just as the golden eyed being drifted to his side.

"There." He said. Yami always seemed to be happier when it was closer to him. The bright smile on the spirit's face confirmed the smaller's theory. It was a great luck that the police decided to hand his brother's backpack back to him without confiscating it for being at the crime scene, if they lost the Puzzle, who knows what would Yami do. Patting his pet's head, Mokie grabbed a white cloth and began to clean the enormous creature's dirty jaw.

"Damn, you're even messier than Nii-sama!" The boy joked before making a face to the mixture of red and cookies on the fabric. "Ew." He muttered before throwing the rag out the window. Hopefully the police won't find it and use it as a proof or something.

When Yami turned to see the object falling outside, Mokie sighed at the sight of a huge golden cut on the ghost's belly. _**"Oh my God!**_ We need to take care of that!" He cried, rushing to get the medicines that he and Seto always kept nearby in a small suitcase. They were always surprisingly useful.

"Gaah ...?" Was the soft response of the spirit when the boy began to wrap him with bandages. He and Seto always maintained a good amount of these around, just in case ... Mokie became quite adept at tinkering with this sort of thing since he and his brother moved to the orphanage. He wasn't very sure of how Yami's body would react to the disinfectant, and there was very little of it in the bottle for Mokuba even consider using it in such a big wound, so he skipped this step. He hopes that the spirit's wound doesn't require stitches or something ...

"Grrr ..." Yami muttered, uncomfortable with the restriction on his body. The black-haired orphan comforted him with kind words before they both prepared for sleep.

* * *

It already was very late.

Seto slowly came out from the supply closet, wandering the dark hallways. He had plenty of time to think and ruminate inside the place, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to see Yami again ... it would bring out some bad memories.

But he couldn't stay in that closet forever ...

Stopping in the middle of the hallway, the blue-eyed boy realized he had no idea where his new room was. Surely the orphanage staff had changed the location, but as he had locked himself in that closet, he didn't know where to go now.

Wherever it was, he hoped it to be very far from his old room. Trembling, he continued to walk, no fixed goal, only to distract himself from his own thoughts.

A gooey sound made him jump and turn around suddenly, a shiver going up his spine.

Yami was there, eyes down and dejected as he avoided looking Seto in the eyes. His lower body was being dragged limply on the floor, as if the spirit was too tired to lift it. A soft sound was emitted from his throat again as his face lowered even further toward the ground.

Yet another apology.

Seto wasn't sure what to do or what he should say. His time in the closet was great for him to examine the recent disturbing events that were taking place in the orphanage and connect the dots.

"It was you, wasn't it? Who killed all those people."

The ghost's entire body shuddered strongly and he slowly raised his head, nodding miserably confirmation.

Seto bit his lip, trying to keep bitter tears from filling his eyes.

"H-How could you ?! They ... they didn't ..." The boy swallowed his words, realizing that he was losing focus. Yami flinched at Seto's tone.

"And to think that I let you sleep in the same bed as me and my brother ... Gosh, I feel so dirty ..." The child brought his arms to his head, ruffling his chocolaty hair in disgust.

The spirit dropped a sad lament and tried to approach but Seto took several steps back, making Yami whimper again.

"You ... I can't believe you did ... I-I can't ..." The boy panted a few times, wiping his eyes. "Why ...? Why did you do this ...? I though ... I though you were different than the other ghosts ..."

Yami let out a gurgling sound, almost like a genuine cry, but Seto covered his ears.

"No ... I don't want to hear any more ... just stay away from me and my brother, that's all I'll ask of you. Don't come near us again." Swallowing hard, he turned his back.

"Murderer."

Ignoring the heartbreaking cry behind him, Seto ran through the halls.

He didn't get very far.

The silent sigh that the child uttered was muffled by a thick black tentacle curled around his mouth. Seto quickly felt his body being surrounded by a warm goo, and fought desperately to free himself before Yami's huge dark hand involved his scalp.

This time, instead of feeling something departing, he felt something _entering_.

 _Mokie crying because an older boy had stolen his lunch and he was starving since morning._

 _Mokie huddled in the corner of the supply closet, murmuring his brother's name as he trembled in fear of the dead rats that the janitor threw at him through the window for shits and laughs._

 _Seto hiding his bruised face in shame after being slapped by the teacher for no apparent reason, making the other children laugh._

 _Seto being launched by a blond man with green eyes, fear filling his eyes as he dived for what should have been his death ..._

The blue-eyed boy gritted his teeth as a deep, seething hatred settled in his heart. All he wanted to do was punish these evildoers ... they would get everything that they did to his partners multiplied tenfold because they are unworthy ... they are evil ... they deserve to die... they deserve to burn ...

Seto shook his head several times to get rid of the thoughts, panting. These feelings weren't his. These memories... these _thoughts weren't his_.

"What ... what did you do? ' The boy murmured, feeling his head slightly pulsing while the ghost came out of him. Yami just looked at him with eyes full of golden tears.

"T-Those were ... your thoughts? Did ... did you show what you were thinking to me?"

The spirit nodded slightly, looking away as a thick, golden tear ran down his face slowly. Seto hesitated before wipping it, making Yami look at him.

"You... you killed all those people... because they had hurt us?"

Yami nodded again.

"I ..." Seto didn't know what to say. "Thank you... I guess, but don't ever do that again. No one deserves to die, no matter what they have done. I'm... flattered that you wanted to protect me and Mokie but... I don't think that'll ever be able to look at you in the same way again... I can't even imagine what you did to these people, and... please just don't do that ever again. Promise me."

The boy held his little finger with a completely straight face, making Yami hesitate before engaging all the child's hand with his own finger. A small smile spread on Seto's face. "I can't forgive you for what you have done... ever, but I'll pretend I don't know it. I'll give you another chance, don't waste it."

The spirit's body suddenly returned to normal, the black peaks on his head back to defy gravity. A big golden smile spread across his face as he curled around the brown-haired boy again, purring and nearly crushing the smaller in his animation.

"Y-Yami! I said to you stop trying to kill people!" Seto joked with some humor, even if he was still terrified of the situation. His best friend was a murderer. That was... a little disconcerting, even though he was only trying to protect him and his little brother.

But he couldn't deny that it was nice to know he had someone who would literally kill to protect him.

Holding the spirit's sticky skin with all of his strength, the blue-eyed boy let Yami carry him to his new room, which wasn't far from there, fascinated by the sight of the scene moving around him as his supernatural pet wafted through the halls. It was almost like if he was in his Dad's helicopter again... but a lot warmer. It was a nice feeling...

When they reached the room, Yami immediately hid in his little brother's futon. He seemed to know that Seto wasn't ready to have the same relationship with him as before and wouldn't be so soon. Yami was actually much smarter than he looked.

The blue-eyed boy saw that everyone else was already sleeping quietly, so he decided to follow suit, curling up in the thin blankets as best as he could.

Hours passed. In the middle of the night, the spirit began to hear a faint cry from the left bed. Turning his head in a way that a human ever could, he saw Seto huddled in his blankets, dropping desperate whispers about his parents and his little brother. Beads of sweat rolled down his flushed face as he moved quietly in bed. Yami wondered since when the infant had learned to be so silent.

Slowly, to not wake Mokie, the ghost came out from under the covers and floated to Seto, coiling around him with his warm body. The sudden heat woke the boy, but he was too tired to complain. In addition, the cold always gave him nightmares. Tucking his face in the spirit's soft chest, he left the rhythmic pulse and the hot air gusts in his hair drag him right back to sleep.

 _ **"Aibou ..."**_

The loving tone made Seto's eyes jump open. He rose slightly, but the ghost was still tightly wrapped around him, his golden eyes unfocused as he drifted in what should be some kind of sleep. Confused, the boy layed back down, wondering if the disturbing events of the recent days were making him hear things.

* * *

Months passed. The Domino media finally got over the horrifying murders and began to focus more on increasing the Christmas sales.

It was a long and painful process. After Kyandoru's death, the whole country went crazy. There were visits of scientists, exorcists, police, detectives and people who Seto had no idea of what they were doing there and honestly didn't want to know. The days became monotonous and tiresome with all the reporters interrogating him the other orphans. Yami had to hide on the outside, in one of the courtyard trees all day long, so he and Mokie arranged a bit of food and some blankets on the top of the tree, before they tied the Puzzle to one of the branches to calm Yami down. None of them wanted to find out what the ghost would do if he considered all these visitors as a threat.

In early December, visits decreased. Seto knew that soon, thanks to this CEO's visit, all of the searchlights were bound to return to the orphanage again, but he didn't care.

They wouldn't be there for too long anyway.

"Yes ..." Seto whispered when he finally thought of a strategy that ... well, _could_ work. He hated cheating in games, but apparently he didn't have a choice this time.(2) The old man would visit them in the morning, and he simply... had no other choice.

Stroking Yami's hair, who was sleeping with his head on his lap, the boy took his pencil to his mouth, biting it. In front of his eyes there was a scribbled paper with all the strategies that 'Gozaburo' guy had and gleanings of chessboards.

With a sigh, he turned off the light of his torch and put it together with the papers in his backpack. He almost never separated himself from it since the day he completed the Puzzle. Yami didn't like being away from the artefact for some reason, and it didn't hurt to keep the pyramid around to let his spirit happy.

Pushing the bag into a corner, the boy snuggled in his bed, pulling Yami closer. The ghost opened his eyes for a moment before curling around the child, warming him. Seto inspired the soothing smell of smoke and dust, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Everything will be alright. He knows it will.

In the next day, Seto was awakened suddenly.

Yami's body was very spiky, his narrowed eyes staring at something through the wall. A loud, bubbling growl vibrated against Seto's side. The spirit was definitely ready to fight.

With his sapphire eyes wide, the smaller shook the other's shoulder lightly. "Shhh, what's wrong?" He couldn't help but be _scared_. The last time Yami was like this ... didn't go very well. The ghost looked at him, his golden eyes becoming soft in a matter of seconds. It was almost as if he was about to speak when the covers were suddenly plucked from off them.

With a stifled sigh, Seto instinctively tried to keep Yami in bed.

But the spirit didn't react.

Nor did the trembling boy who stared wide-eyed at him.

There was an uncomfortable silence. Seto didn't know what to say, Yami was as hard as a rock and the blue-eyed boy's chamber fellow didn't seem to be about to move very soon as well.

 _"Ga-Ga-Gh-GH-_ _ **GHOST !"**_

 _"Shhhhhh"_ Seto desperately shook his arms. Yami growled loudly in threat.

"D-Don't 'Shhhh' me! T-There's- There's A GHOST IN YOUR BED !"

 _"I know!"_

"Y-You know ?!"

 _"Yes I know! Mokie also knows but literally everyone else in this building_ _ **DOESN'T know so you HAVE to stop screaming !"**_

Shaking his head desperately, the other boy ran to the door. **"I ha-have to tell someone! This thing is brainwashing you for sure !"**

"No! Isono !" Seto screamed when the black haired teen was about to open the door.

It was locked. With a menacing and deep growl, Yami lunged at the young man. The cry of both boys filled the room.

Before Seto could regret having forgiven the spirit, Yami rolled off his victim, revealing an unconscious, but unharmed, Isono.

A big sigh of relief escaped from the child's lips. He brought his hand to his chest before saying: "Holy cheese Yami. Don't ever do that again I thought que you were about to-.."

The ghost pulled the unconscious youth under the bunk, where he hid, curling up.

"Seto" A shrill voice complained, and the boy was immediately reminded that he should have been in the classroom for the visit a long time ago. Horrified, he jumped out of the bunk and ran out of the room, not bothering to get dressed or even take the puzzle with him.

Golden eyes blinked innocently as his best friend ran out of the room.

Seto ran through the empty halls of the orphanage, his heart pounding in his chest as the realization that _today was the day_ and he was _late_ weighed on his mind.

 **"Seto !"** The woman who performed the adoptions rebuked in a whisper when he arrived, panting. "Look at you! You're all messy! Our visitor is here!"

The boy looked down in shame, muttering "I'm sorry Mrs-"

"Don't 'I'm sorry' me! Go get ready! _Now !"_

Nodding quickly, Seto stole a look at the half-open door, his eyes widening when he saw his brother staring at the man whose picture he had seen in several sets of books.

Gozaburo.

* * *

 **Ooooh, cliffhanger. Again. * sigh *. Don't trust me. (I bet I tricked some people with this title...hehehe.)**

 **At least I didn't take longer to write it than I thought I would!**

 **(1) Yami is a strong, huge ghost. Seto and Mokie are small little kids. I can see Yami accidentaly hurting them if he isn't careful ^. ^;**

 **(2) In the manga, Seto cheated to win against Gozaburo. ;)**

 **I want to thank everyone who followed, faved, and reviewed from the depth of my heart. Thank you ! I didn't think people would like a story so weird like this one, but I'm very glad they did! xD**


	7. Easy as Pie

_**murtagh1,**_ **Thanks for commenting! c:. (I'll read your fic soon!) And nope, Isono wasn't in their orphanage, and he probably is much older than I'm making him here- but no one knows his actual age and he seems to have a good relationship with Kaiba so I couldn't let him out! (Plus I needed more orphans ^.^;). He's 18\17 while Seto is 9\8. Still a big age difference at least! (Thank you for reviewing again, I'm hoping that I'm not overloading you with new chaps! xD)**

 _ **gracefulmiracle,**_ **Há, I guess you expected some more drama? It's because (i'm not so good with it) I couldn't have them separate in the orphanage, but I also couldn't have Yami being boundless! (Plus, I prefer fluff- cough cough). Glad you still like it!**

 _ **Howl3,**_ **Omg, you spoil me way too much! (The fun thing is that Shaadi doesn't know who is the one chosen by the Puzzle! In the manga at least, but I'm sure that he'll freak out anyway, since the only thing that kept him from attacking Yugi himself was his innocent soul room, and I'm sure that Seto's will be... a little different. I wonder what he'll do...)Sadly no cookies in this chap ;-;. But yeah, that was based in my time in an orphanage. They used to give way too many of them! (My friend was an orphan, not me :). Sleepovers were fun but the blankets were way too thin!) There was honey cookies, chocolate cookies, vanilla cookies... yea, you get it! (Yami will definitely be suplied with a good and frequent amout of cookies, don't worry xD. I wish I could get some as well ;-;.) And I... wasn't planning into adding the 'Don't kill' thing. It just showed up and now I have a more complex plot that may or may not be better than the old one! xD. Hope you like this chap as well! (Even if it's mostly setting the stage for the next chaps ^.^;)**

* * *

"S-sir ..."

The white-haired man was staring at the children's drawings on the classroom wall. Nervously, the teacher who took care of younger children like Mokie discreetly moved from one foot to the other. This visit was one of the most important of the entire event, and Gozaburo was one of the major cash donors for their orphanage. If he donated by kindness or obligation, no one knew, and no one needed to know. They chose the classroom that was in better condition of the whole building to start the tour, the 'two to six years children' room. Swallowing hard, she wondered again _why_ she had been chosen for this role. God willing, the man will just stop looking at the drawings and quickly end this torture.

"Which child drawed this one?" The CEO asked, pointing to one of the drawings that were placed higher on the wall.

Looking up, the teacher saw a paper with two boys holding hands, one with neat brown hair and blue eyes, and a smaller one with spiky black hair and greyish eyes. Behind them was a black creature with bright yellow eyes and a golden, toothed mouth that ended where it's ears have should have been. There was a third darker eye on it's forehead, as if the drawing's author had forgotten to add it before and tried to erase the black skin to be able to put it on. Several dark tendrils came out of the creature's back and writhed across the page, wrapping the two boys, who were smiling in the midst of two long black arms ending in pointed fingers like long, sharp claws.

Red lines trickled from the comic creature's jaw.

"Uh ..." she muttered nervously, turning to the room of little kids looking up at her expectantly.

Scanning the small crowd, she found a head of frizzy black hair. "Mokie" She called gently, hoping that the usually hot tempered boy wouldn't do anything 'funny' in the presence of someone so important.

Slowly, the boy walked to the front of the room and looked into Gozaburo's eyes. With his dark eyes filled with confidence, he said: "Yes, Mr.?"

The man raised an eyebrow.

"This is a very interesting drawing you made here. Something happened to make you want to draw such a thing?"

Shuddering, the woman intervened: "It's just a weekly practical activity- 'draw your friends'. Mokie has this imaginary friend for a long time, it's nothing to-."

"I'm talking to the boy, m'lady."

Closing her mouth, the teacher looked away.

With narrowed eyes, Mokuba said. "It's not polite to interrupt people, Mr."

With a scorn-filled smile, the man shot back: "Neither is refusing to answer people, kid."

The two stared at each other until Mokie started to sweat, tears gathering in the back of his eyes. He really hated the effect that older people's gazes had on him. The other children began to murmur among themselves, much to the boy's and teacher's discomfort. Feeling a deep, cold look on him, Mokie looked at the door, making Gozaburo look as well.

"Mokuba!" Seto said reproachfully, running to him. The eyes of the older man followed every single movement from the minor.

 _"I didn't tell you to stay away from him ?!"_ The older brother whispered, stealing a look at the adults in the room. In the corner of his eyes, Mokie's drawing caught his attention. _"Mokuba ! Did you-"_

"Nii-sama ..." Murmured the smaller one, looking down. The teacher immediately pulled Seto's shoulder to get him out of the room, but Gozaburo stopped her.

"Let him go." After the teacher hesitantly dropped the kid, the old man looked in the narrow blue eyes and asked, "What's wrong with your brother's drawing?", raising an eyebrow.

Through gritted teeth, Seto said. "This ... ghost in the background. It should not be there." Looking Mokie with angry eyes, brown haired boy continued: "He promised me that he would stop drawing it. Mokuba treats it as a guardian or something, but it was only one of those stories that our parents used to told us to ward off nightmares. . "

The words felt bitter inside his mouth.

"Oh." The entrepreneur murmured, greyish eyes shining with sickly interest.

Mokie cowered behind his brother. This man gave him chills. It was really a good idea to be adopted by him?

"Mr ... let's continue the tour, we're wasting time."

"Hmm."

The white haired CEO turned to follow the woman when a shout stopped him in his tracks.

 _"I challenge you !"_

The room was filled with silence. Not even the murmurs of children could be heard now that the tension was hot in the air, making Seto's heart beat faster. His whole body shivered as the man's cold eyes turned slowly to him, glaring furiously.

 **"What. Did you say?"**

Seto had to use all his strength to avoid swallowing.

 _"I. Challenge. You !"_

Something similar to a warped smile spreaded in the older man's face. It grew up as the man tried to hold his laughter, which soon was heard all over the room. The children cowered at the sound.

"You _challenge_ me?"

 _ **"Seto!"**_ The teacher cried in a furious and desperate rebuke.

Ignoring how fast his heart was beating, the boy replied _, "Yes!"_

With a dark smile, the business man prevented the teacher from approaching.

"And _how_ you intend to challenge me, _boy?"_

With his shiny blue eyes narrowed and full of determination, the child pointed to the chess boards arranged in the room's corner. The man laughed again.

"I'll humor you, kid. Let's play."

"With a condition."

Making sure that Gozaburo was listening, Seto continued, "You're going to adopt me and my brother if you lose."

"Hmm. Of course." The CEO dimissed it with a snort.

A smile spreaded on the smaller's face.

 _ **"Game Start !"**_ (1)

The sight of a mature man playing with a little boy was funny in a certain way. But ironically, the old man wasn't hogging the game. Seto was really good with chess, and he knew all of Gozaburo's strategies.

Yami never expected less from his partner.

 _ **"Aibou ..!"**_ He murmured in his deep voice, floating between the children's legs excitedly, easily. _**"Aibou ..."**_ He whispered tenderly, curling around his own gaseous body.

The children were so worried in following Seto's movements that they didn't notice the little creature crawling and wandering through their feet. Spotting Mokie, the ghost's body became more spiky and he whispered excitedly _**"... small Aibou ...! ... little Aibou ..."**_ as he crawled closer with a golden smile.

Mokuba shuddered when he felt something slimy crawling up his legs. Looking down, he saw two small bright eyes blinking at him.

"Yami!" He whispered, pushing the small head back into his collar. How did he get over there?!

"You're very good at this game boy." Gozaburo huffed, his cold eyes analyzing Seto from top to bottom.

"And you're not bad at all, sir." Murmured the smaller one, a drop of sweat oozing down his face. He could have lost _five times_ already. If he hadn't changed the pieces lightly from place or distracted the older man, he would have already lost all the chance he had to save himself and his brother, maybe forever.

Unconsciously, his hand wandered to his lap for comfort, and he almost sighed in surprise when he realized that Yami wasn't there. He had become so accustomed to let the spirit sleep in his lap that was totally shocking to not feel the warmth or the soft pulsar on his legs.

Biting his lip, he began to feel Gozaburo's withering glare with more intensity. When he took one of his hands to the chessmen, he saw that it was shaking. Swallowing hard, he wiped a few beads of sweat from his eyes and felt his heart fall into his stomach when the old man ended up one of his best pieces- Seto had made a stupid mistake.

Feeling the commotion inside the blue-eyed child, the ghost peeked over Mokie's neckband again. Before the small kid could push him back inside, he slid back down and fired towards of the older orphan, entering through his trouser's hem. Seto's eyes widened and he stood straight on his chair, making the old man smile in satisfaction.

Mokuba gasped in horror when Yami slipped right out of his hands and cringed seeing him arriving to his brother's chair. "Uhh ... ops?"

"Wha-ha ..." Seto whispered as he felt something warm settling on his collarbone.

Yami.

He almost sighed with relief. It was as if all the stress that was weighing on his shoulders had suddenly disappeared, and he could see the game more clearly now. With his bright blue eyes, he met Gozaburo's flaming eyes without fear -even though the man still got on his nerves. A defiant smile spread across his face, even if just to rip the smug look off his opponent's face.

It worked. The man made the scariest grimace, but it worked!

Taking a deep breath, he looked right into the menacing eyes and continued the game, trying to fix the stupid mistakes he had done. His eyes widened when he saw the pieces in different places than they used to be before, and some 'ressurected' chess pieces.

He realized with shock that the older man hadn't noticed the sudden and obvious change in the game board. His gray eyes were weird- unfocused.

Well, Seto wasn't going to complain.

Before he could make his move, he heard a faint dark whisper in his ear... it made him wince.

 _ **"B7 ..."**_

With a sigh, he recognized the voice he had heard so many months ago. He felt his whole body go cold, gulping. With a trembling hand, he followed the order.

And every single one that followed it.

Gozaburo's eyes finally returned to normal once Seto said "Checkmate."

He looked at the board with a full shock face, and stood up slowly as he continued to look, stumbling a little.

Everyone else who was in the room looked at them wide-eyed, including Mokie. Seto wasn't sure of twhat they had seen, but he was sure that it wasn't the same thing as him.

 _ **"Y-You ...!"**_

The little orphan cringed as he heard the poison in the old man's word.

Gozaburo slowly approached him with his eyes burning with fury, but as soon as he towered over the boy and reached out to grab him two glowing eyes appeared in a flash through his mind, disappearing as fast as they appeared but still being enough to make the employer take several steps back.

"I ..." He shook his head as if to clear it, but his eyes were still unfocused. "Come ... boy." He murmured with repressed hatred, turning to leave the room.

"But sir-" The teacher started and was interrupted with a single glance.

"Mokie." Seto said softly. The child trotted over to him, still looking down in shame for the drawing problem. His older brother guided him with a hand on his back, letting young one cling to his shirt.

Gozaburo didn't even finish his tour. He just signed the adoption papers with short and acidic sentences, definitely not happy to have lost that game. Both boys packed their few belongings in record time and entered their new father's limousine hesitantly, nervous about the tense atmosphere inside the car. Seto stroked the pulsing Puzzle inside his backpack, pondering how Yami was able to drag it to the room were he was without alerting anyone, and also how ... all that had happened. It was really the spirit that was talking to him?

 _"Nii-sama ..."_ Whispered Mokie, stealing a glance at the old man who was sitting a little farther away from them. _"Do you ... do you really think this was a good idea?"_

Looking Gozaburo, Seto wasn't so sure.

 _"Of course it was Mokie."_

Something twisted inside his shirt, and he was quick to stop it from moving. Two bright eyes twinkled merrily to him before the little creature caressed his neck with his face.

The blue-eyed boy gave a small smile.

 _ **"Yami."**_

The brothers were distracted looking at the spirit until the car stopped at a large mansion, which should be a bit far from the city since the scenario had become an open place full of grass and well-pruned trees. The four left the luxury car, and the brothers had a good time to admire the beautiful and well maintained gardens, full of colorful and exotic plants. There were fountains and statues, gravel roads decorated with chic patterns throughout the entire yard extension and benches dotted near the most beautiful flowers. Seto thought about having seen one or two gardeners watering a giant bush of pink flowers but he didn't have time to confirm his theory as the hardwood doors of the mansion opened before him.

The hallways were magnific. Decorations everywhere, famous paintings with gold frames hanging from the salmon colored walls, expensive statues and detailed vases- _everything_ was decorated. The ceiling, the 'bulbs', the furniture and even the doors had diversified designs. Seto was delighted with the place. It was even more ostentative than their parents' mansion and that was saying _a lot_. It had precious stones on doorknobs. The blinding white shag carpeting under his feet apparently was covering the floor of the entire mansion. And apparently the house had no end, as they were walking for what seemed like hours, and his feet were starting to hurt!

Silently Gozaburo stopped in front of one of the doors next to the _gigantic_ dining room and waited for the children to enter it with their belongings. Before the boys had time to admire the place, they heard a click signaling that the door had been locked.

"HEY!" Seto screamed, indgnant, banging on the door.

"Nii-san! He'll let us out later! Calm down!" Mokie soothed, sure that Gozaburo just needed to digest what happened. Mokuba didn't care. Just the sight of the beautiful house had taken all his doubts about this plan not have been a good idea, and judging by the twinkle in his brother's eyes, Seto also thought the same.

That was so much better than the orphanage!

With joy, the smaller boy began to jump on the bed. "Haaa! It's so soft! Come, nii-sama!" The older one watched his little brother bounce in bed hesitantly, looking up and down. Still bitter about being locked in this room, he thought _, "Why not?"_

 _"But first ..."_ Seto put his hand under his shirt, sought Yami tail and pulled him out, seeing his now tiny body fall limply against his forearm, sleeping. A little guilty, the brown haired boy took all his belongings out of his bag except the Puzzle and put the spirit carefully back inside. Yami immediately curled around the golden artifact, sighing deeply.

Seto wanted to let the ghost sleep in the king-size bed, but it was too risky. Until things became stable there still was a chance of Gozaburo suddenly appearing in this room to talk to them. When this chance disappears, he will put the puzzle on one of the pillows. But while they were still at risk, Yami would have to stay in the backpack. Seto closed it, leaving a small space open for air and put it under the bed with Mokie's bag. They needed to find a way to feed him without arousing suspicion, too ...

"Nii-samaaaa!"

"I'm going!" He hurried to get on the bed with his little brother.

It was actually really soft! A big smile spread on the boy's face as he started jumping too, laughing a little. He didn't let himself have fun very often but...they just could jump so high! (2)

They barely had time to enjoy themselves a bit before a loud knock sounded through the door. _**"Stop that."**_ Someone's voice scolded with pent-up frustration.

Mokie stopped first, sitting on the bed nervously. Seto scowled at the door before he sit down with force, still bouncing slightly.

"He locks us in a room alone, with nothing to do, in the middle of the day-" He began to complain before turning around and tucking his face into a pillow. (3)

"C'mon, Nii-san. I'm sure there's something interesting to the here." Mokuba said, getting up to scour the huge room. Seto remained motionless on the bed.

There were many things to look at and read, but apparently there was no TV or computer in any place nearby. With a sigh, Mokie began rummaging through the furniture drawers in search of a board game or similar, but there was only paper, paper and more paper. This must be a room that his new father only uses to store old wrinkly documents.

As he removed the documents, something caught his eye.

Some of the papers had the word 'game' being repeated over and over again. Grabbing them, Mokie read it and found out that a collectible card game had been released and was doing a great success in the Americas.

"Nii-san ...?" Mokuba told his brother before handing over the documents to him. Seto lazily accepted them and read slowly.

"Hmm. Looks like our father received a request for him to bring this game to Japan. He is a very influential man after all. Perhaps the most influential of the country, even if he doesn't work with games. The owner of that other company was pretty smart. "

Rummaging through the papers, he saw a large 'REFUSED' on the last of them. "Hm."

Without bothering to read the rest, he laid on his back, decided to count the decorations on the bed's ceiling. Mokuba preferred to continue to search the room, and a few hours passed without he finding nothing. With a weary sigh, he sat on the bed, seeing that the sun was already high in the sky. His stomach was growling, and he was just about to shake his brother awake when the door suddenly opened.

Seto jumped when two thick notebooks were thrown beside him, and Mokie started to salivate with the delicious smell that was coming through the door. A food cart was pushed towards them, and before closing the door, the woman who was pushing it spoke:

" Mr . Kaiba asked you two to take a look at your agendas and already begin to follow their schedules quickly. There will be visits of allies and clients tomorrow and he asked to not be bothered. On day two you will travel to America, so already take the necessary provisions. "

And the door closed with a click.

 _"WHAT?! We have to do all of this ?!"_

While Seto freaked out about the size of the agendas, Mokie drooled on the chic dishes they received. "We can finish whatever it is later, Nii-san! Wake Yami and let's eat!"

With a frown, Seto nodded and pushed the gigantic books away. "You know what? You're right." And he pulled the bag from under the bed.

After waking up the spirit, the three expressed thanked for the food before devouring the expensive dishes. The blue-eyed boy felt the delicious taste with a smile. Oh yes, it was definitely better than the orphanage. Learning how to manage it all and how to follow that big-ass schedule would be difficult, but after all he, Mokie and Yami have gone through, he was sure that all the rest of their lives from now on will be easy as pie.

 **So innocent.**

 **(1) 'Game Start!' Is a famous phrase in the Yu Gi Oh! Manga! (I really like it~)**

 **(2) Kids.**

 **(3) Kids.**

 **And alright, things are all set up and ready to (burn) keep moving! ;D. I don't have much more to say other than a big, huge, Thank You! for reading, faving, following (and especially) reviewing! It really cheers me up in bad days and makes me update way faster! Looking at you, Howl3, Murtagh1!**


	8. Yami NO!

_**murtagh1**_ **, Isono will totally appear again! ^.^ . Did you read the manga? Like, completely? My fic is set in manga-verse, so it'll probably have some weird things if you didn't! xD. The characters are slightly different as well. (That's such a Yami thing to do, I couldn't let him out! ;p.) HA, if you already disliked him before you'll hate him so much in this one... his life is literally in Seto's hands tho.**

 _ **Howl3 ,**_ **Hi! :D (So many huge comments omg i'm so spoiled! :'D) And thank you! (** _ **YES.**_ **Both Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl belong to Atem and Atem** _ **only.**_ **It's not even ofensive to Yugi since he has this extremely awesome Toy Deck! (which I love and wished that was in the new movie ;-;) And. Seriously guys.** _ **My soul is your eternal servant**_ **.**  
 **My story is going to be** _ **weird.**_ **It's one of these kinds of stories that are extremely different from canon but at same time... aren't.(Hahahaha, no! xD. I'm not spoiling my own fic... hehe) And thank you again!**

 **(That's totally random but I did a small (** _ **amateur)**_ **piece of art for this fic! It's on egyptiansapphiredragons. tumblr post/ 144304217057 /so-i-did- some-doodles -and-colored- them-xd-most Without the spaces of course, if anyone wants to see it! ^.^;)**

 **Warnings: Cursing, Abuse, Humiliation, Angry Yami, Gore. (Not sure if it's the normal kind or the light one. Beware.)**

* * *

Gozaburo bursted through the halls, burning with fury. The mansion's servants jumped out of the way lubberly, afraid of what their boss could do.

The man arrived in his office quickly- (after knocking down and breaking some splendidly expensive statues, intentionally and not intentionally,)- and slammed the door with all of his strength, definitely ruining some of the beautiful golden decoration in the process.

With an angry sigh, he sat on his crimson velvet armchair, taking one of his hands to his face. He shook his head from side to side before slamming the dark mahogany table with both hands. "Fuck ... that bastard brat ..."

The familiar sound of wine filling a glass brought him out of his thoughts of hatred.

Looking up, he saw one of its executives looking at him, his eyes hidden by darkness.

"Mr. Gozaburo."

"Mr. Oka."

"I see ... that you're having problems with the loss of your... gaming title." The man spat out the word like it was disgusting.

A deep growl was emitted from the older one's throat.

"I have already explained that what happens in my personal life or in my life in the game world is none of your business, or of interest to the company, Mr. Oka."

"That would be... understandable if your loss had not added a ... small problem in our business. A small... orphan problem."

"He'll be a qualified heir. I'll make sure of that."

"Will he? Not any rat can take over Kaiba Corporation and you know it better than any of us. What if the kid was just lucky in chess and is actually nothing more than a brainless dog?"

Gozaburo rose from his chair with glaring eyes.

"Watch your tongue, Mr. Oka. You can be my right hand, but you don't have the right to insult me or my heir. He is extremely intelligent, and I'll train him. There is no reason to worry."

With a snort, the other man nodded in agreement.

"Four years, Mr. Kaiba. It's better that the small fry already has a good idea what to do around there until then. One never knows what can happen."

The old man's eyes narrowed.

"Are you threatening me?"

"Of course not, Mr. Kaiba. Of course not."

* * *

"What the heck is that? I can understand Mathematics, Science and Geography but Physics, Chemistry? And what in the seven heavens is Engineering and Astronomy? Are we supposed to study these things? Why there isn't History or Art here?"

"I have basically the same thing Nii-san." Mokuba said, scratching his head in confusion. "But my whole day is filled with the same classes and I don't have these weird subjects who you're complaining about."

Yami let out a big yawn from his place under the bed, stretching like a cat would. Shaking himself and rubbing his eyes, he lazily emerged from the bag and began to curl around the boys' legs, purring. they smiled and messed up the smoky hair, making the spirit do a silly smile. **"Aibous ..."** he purred, bending his spine with the pleasant feeling. Both boys withdrew their hands in shock.

A loud knock sounded on the door and Seto instinctively grabbed Yami by the back of the neck and tucked him in bed, under the covers. The spirit whimpered disapprovingly.

The door opened, revealing a man with big round glasses and afro hair, holding up several books.

"Mr. Seto. It's time for your math class. Please ask Mr. Mokuba to go to his geography class in the room right next door. Time is money and we can not waste it."

Seto and Mokie exchanged looks before nodding to each other.

The younger boy grabbed his agenda and staggered out of the room, trying to support the book's weight with his small little arms. Seto ran to the desk with his own agenda, organizing things the best he could and wincing as the weight of books was released on the old wood, making an uncomfortably loud noise reach his ears.

"Do the exercises from page one to seventy-nine. I will supervise your work and point out the mistakes."

"Two chapters on the first day ?!" Seto thought internally with shock and slight anger, trying to keep his comments to himself. The fact that Yami had just spoken right in front of him was still preventing his mind from thinking clearly, but he tried to push the fact away as best as he could. He knew that the studies would be difficult and didn't want to be distracted right now.

In the beginning, everything was going well. He could understand what the book was asking, thanks to the various private lessons he had in his parents' mansion. It wasn't so hard.

... until he reached the second chapter.

Most of the exercises were about things that he never had seen before in his life, and he began to notice that his tutor was starting to get angry with him. How was he supposed to know this kind of thing ?!

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the man's watch started beeping, and he announced the end of the class with some kind of relief. What an annoying guy ! Seto wouldn't be so bad at this if he actually bothered to teach and explain something instead of just reading the damn exercises again and again dozens of times!

Once the tutor left, the blue-eyed boy ruffled his hair in frustration. That guy will definitely tell his father about his lamentable performance ... damn it, damn it, damn it!

Something viscous rubbed against his leg, and he looked down with tired eyes, smiling softly at the sight of his spirit nuzzling the outside of his thigh. He stroked the gluey head sluggishly, pulling Yami to his lap. He could hide him under his shirt when necessary. He just wanted to relax a bit and finally...

A knock sounded on the door and he sighed in frustration. A redheaded woman, also with glasses entered the room without bothering to announce the class that she came to give like the other teacher did. Great. One of those teachers who think that they're better than him. As if his day couldn't get any worse.

The books fell heavily on the table and the woman's monotonous voice announced the absurd number of pages that he should fill this time. He wanted to hit his head against the table several times. Was the whole day going to be like this?

It was Geography this time. Easy subject, easy exercises. Complex ones however. He failed to finish the number of exercises that were expected of him, but he felt proud for not having to ask for advice from his tutor, not even once, and for having let so few exercises blank. He almost reached the target!

The boy stroked his pet spirit through his blouse with a smile that turned into a giggle when Yami made that silly smile for him from his place on his collarbone. The spirit was just so cute when he was in his tiny form. Seto was just starting to think about playing with him for a bit when he heared another knock on the door.

The kid almost screamed in frustration.

* * *

It was late at night when the bloody lessons were finally over.

Seto and Mokie were eating dinner and commenting on the day they had.

"I hated every single one of these teachers! It's like they want me to learn everything as fast as I can and only in my own or something !" The older boy complained angrily, waving his arms and thrusting a spoonful of expensive soup in his mouth. Hmmm that's good.

"Seriously?" Mokuba asked, blinking. "But they were so nice with me!" He exclaimed. "Yes, the exercises were difficult, but they weren't bad to teach or tried to make me learn faster than I could ..." His voice trailed off at the end of the sentence.

The brown-haired boy frowned. "Maybe they just hated me from the start, as usual. ' He sighed, biting into a crunchy bread. Mokie looked down with a small pout.

 **"Aibo."**

They both looked down in surprise when their spirit's head appeared on the edge of the bed. The day had been so stressful that they both had forgotten that Yami was sleeping down there ... and that he was apparently able to speak.

"H-He actually talks !" Mokuba exclaimed with a mixture of surprise and joy, waving his little arms. "How cool is that Nii-sama?! We have a talking pet!"

Seto's eyes were shinning, but he popped Mokie's bubble ". I don't think that we should label him as a 'pet' anymore. He's our friend." Seto never thought that he would say something like that. "Plus he talks. And acts a lot like a human, which he probably was when he was alive. It's... mean to call him like he is an animal or ... a thing." The blue-eyed boy continued as he carefully pulled the spirit of the floor, placing him on his lap. "Also, speaking one word doesn't qualify as 'talking'."

Mokuba swelled his cheeks to him.

 **"Aibou ..."** Yami purred, rubbing his face on the child's chest. Seto let out some giggles.

"I seriously wonder if he was a cat when he was alive."

"Mokuba!"

"He keeps nuzzling you ! When I'll get some love ?!"

Singhing, Seto put the confused ghost on Mokie's head. "There."

Yami blinked and looked around in confusion before snuggling in the black hair strands, apparently closing his golden eyes with a satisfied purr.

Laughing, Mokuba patted the smiling spirit in his head as Seto smiled at them.

A knock sounded on the door and both boys jumped. The older boy quickly grabbed the frightened creature and closed him inside the backpack again.

"Kid."

Both boys shook with the voice.

"Yes, father?"

"Follow me."

And he turned his back and left.

Seto and Mokie looked at each other nervously, knowing that it was probably a consequence of Seto's regrettable performance in Math.

Swallowing hard, the older boy put his soup bowl aside and ran to accompany his adoptive father. Mokie's deep dark eyes turned nervously to his own food.

He didn't saw the bag's zipper opening, or black creature crawling under the door.

Seto followed Gozaburo through the halls, disturbed by the dead silence.

The mansion didn't seem so esplendid overnight. It was cold. Dark. Frightening.

He looked down, worried about what would happen.

They walked for what seemed like hours. Yami happily trotted behind them, jumping by the lights and statues to move faster.

Finally, the old man stopped in front of a dark, heavy, wooden door. He unlocked it and opened it slowly to reveal a room filled with darkness.

He pushed Seto inside before entering and turning on a small lamp.

The blue-eyed boy was shaking, but he was still surprised to see a simple and empty gray room. There just was a clean table with several books stacked in it's corner, a study lamp and a blank notebook in its center. He looked at the place in confusion.

A 'click' warned him that the door had been locked.

"Sit down."

Swallowing, Seto obeyed, looking down. The room uncomfortably reminded him of the interrogation rooms in his dad's violent movies.

"Your first teacher said you had a pitiful performance in math functions..." The man spoke as he opened one of his desk drawers, rummaging through its contents. Swallowing hard, the nine years old boy didn't answer.

"The other teachers also said that you didn't fulfill the goals. I'm very disappointed with you. And this is still your very first day."

"But-"

 **"Don't. Interrupt. Me."**

Seto looked down again, snarling with rage.

"Oh, you're going to behave like a dog, huh? So I might as well treat you like one."

That had Seto hissing in disgust _. "WHAT ?! How dare you-"_

His sentence was interrupted when the Gozaburo abruptly held him against the chair, forcing something against his neck. The boy's vision was distorted as he gasped for air, feeling something cold hurt his skin. His small hands gripped the man's suit red cloth, pulling it with despair, but to no avail. When black dots began to fill his vision, the old man finally released him, wiping his hands on his suit.

Seto panted with the lack of oxygen in his lungs, feeling his sensitive neck hesitantly.

Something was restraining him, squeezing him. He pulled whatever it was desperately, tears filling his eyes when he realized it was a dog collar. The orphan uttered heartbreaking cries as he sought the iron buckle somewhere, disgusted at being compared to the stinky animal that his deceased family used to tease him with. It was the only negative memory he had with his parents, even though he knew they were just joking with him.

It was just so ... _humiliating._

When he finally found the iron buckles, an electric current ran down his spine and made him let out a horrible scream of pain, releasing the iron immediately.

"Bad dog." The old man stated angrily. "Leave the collar in place, you should be proud to wear one. Now you are no longer a street mutt." The old man continued with a maniacal laugh, referring to the orphanage.

Seto was still shaking after the shock, gulping. Beads of sweat began to drip down his temples.

A huge black hand appeared from under the door, pawing the ground.

"Now. Finish your work." The man said, holding Seto by his soft hair while he attached a leach from the collar to the table, not that the grip would be necessary anyway. The boy was still paralysed.

Trembling, Seto grabbed the pen slowly. His neck _hurt_. Now even more with the leather leash pushing him down to the papers. His back has starting to hurt as well, and all he wanted was to rip the offensive accessory away from his neck and throw it right in Gozaburo's face.

 _How dare he._

Seto had always been obsessed with control. Since he was very young. Control made him feel safe, made him feel _strong._ He had no respect for those who were controlled, because they were at the mercy of others. As he and Mokie were at the mercy of their relatives. And the first thing they did? Abandoned them in a dirty orphanage.

His hand was sweating. He opened his book with difficulty because his vision was still distorted with pain. He took a deep breath, his heart beating with repressed fear. The exercise was asking him to calculate how many times a bird flapped its wings per minute...

Birds. He always liked birds. And alligators. And cats.

All these were free... independent animals. They weren't, and couldn't be controlled. They were wild. Magnificent.

He _loathes_ dogs. Repugnant animals that would obey every single command of their owners. Mangy, drooling and _controlled_ animals. He _wasn't_ a dog. He _wasn't_ going to give his control up to Gozaburo. His body was tingling, and he wanted to vomit with the comparison. He was just so _livid._

A hallucinatory pain tore his back. A painful weeping escaped his lips as the impulse forced him against the table. Tears were forced out of his eyes.

He weakly tried to feel his back with one of his hands, but a shrill whisper sounded in the room before something cut the soft skin on the back of his hand. Another cry escaped from his throat, he gritted his teeth. Looking at the injured hand, he saw a red line on its entire length, small, red drops had already escaped the fine, but _painful_ , cut.

Laughter filled the room, making Seto cringe in fear and shame.

 _"Bad dog."_ The man repeated. "You're taking way too long. How do you expect to inherit my business with these slow reactions?!"

 _SNAP_

 _SNAP_

"GAAAAAAAH!" The child screamed again, tears wetting the fabric of his pants. He tried to get away, but the pain on his back was way too strong and the leash slowly suffocated him when he pulled too far. The faint eletric feeling on the back of his neck was also a warning to keep still. He then leaned weakly against the wooden table.

Another black hand came from under the door, scratching the gray floor while looking for support. When sharp fingers were finally deeply choked on the room's cement floor, the semi-solid spirit stuck his head inside, followed by the rest of its gaseous body.

A bright eye already burned on his forehead.

Gozaburo felt a shiver go through his spine when the room was suddenly several degrees colder. A gurgle heavy with disgust and hatred was being sent from somewhere in the room, rapidly increasing volume and becoming more and more dark and threatening every second past.

It seemed to come from all sides.

Gray eyes scanned the place without finding anything unusual except the deep darkness that enveloped the room.

Something moved behind him, and his whole body trembled with the painfully cold sensation. The CEO struggled, using all his strength, but he couldn't move. His eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly when a excruciating pain ran down his shoulder. With the corner of his eye, he saw a sickly yellow liquid running down his suit, a dark gray smoke rising from the affected site.

He felt something falling on his forearm, and it began to burn even more intensity than his shoulder. His mouth opened and closed lightly, but whatever was keeping his body trapped was very, very strong.

He couldn't even scream.

Seto, noticing the sudden silence, turned to his 'father' slowly, wincing with his injuries.

His eyes widened.

Yami was there, right behind Gozaburo, his eyes literally seething with anger and his huge jaw opened grotesquely. Fluorescent liquid drops running down his chin and making the old man mutter and shudder in pain when they fell on him. A third eye blinked furiously in the creature's forehead, whose arms were already stretched on both sides, closing in in front of the man, his sharp fingers ready to tear flesh right at the time his heavy jaw shut on the employer's stomach, braiding him in an acid environment. Every single tentacle was curling around the entire room, enormous thorns growing in each one of them. They crackled through the room, dangerously close to Seto, but far enough to not hurt him.

The ghost was... hauntingly silent.

Gozaburo seemed to have no idea of what was about to happen. He just looked at his wide eyed son with sick confusion. Surely the brat should be pleased to see him being melted alive. The golden substance didn't affect the red fabric of his suit, just burned through his skin, muscle and bone until it innocently fell on the concrete floor, where nauseating holes began to form. A fetid smoke began to fill the room, and yet the CEO didn't know what to think. His mind was blank, without the ability to form coerent thoughts. He didn't know what was going on. All he knew was a weird... supernatural _**pain**_. It was as if something was dissolving his own soul, and he couldn't move... he couldn't complain.

Slowly. something black covered his vision and fire covered the upper part of his body.

The coherent thought was far away from him now.

His body gained the ability to move again, but move only intensified the pain of wounds that didn't bleed, just burned and burned clean holes through his body. Yelling only let the acid liquid reached his throat, destroying part of his vocal cords. Dozens of sharp knives went through his stomach, sinking deeper and deeper until he was certain that his spine would break under the pressure ...

 _ **"STOP !"**_

The agony stopped suddenly. He felt the place move weirdly around him, as if the creature that apparently was biting his stomach had swallowed dry. A sad whimper reverberated around him in a deafening frequency, hurting his ears.

"NO! You _can't_ eat him! How many times I'll have to repeat myself !?"

 **"Aibo ..."** The tearful sound reverberated around him as the knives went in and out of his flesh lightly in stubbornness.

 _"Yami!"_ The voice of his son repeated with exasperation. "I didn't even had the chance to learn anything from him yet. I _want_ this corporation. And it _will_ be mine. Mokie, you and I are going to have the best life that money can buy and I'll be able to bring success to the things that I love. I know that this guy hurt me, but we need him. And it's not as if he killed anyone. _No one deserves to die Yami_. I made myself clear? "

With a snort, the ghost spat the man to the wall, letting him crash and fall limply against it.

Seto didn't even want to look at the situation, facing away. "You better cure him before we leave. I don't even want to know what the servants would do if they found their boss half dead in this room with a skinless upper body."

 **"But ... Aibo..."**

"Don't even start. I don't care. Look Yami, you're a good boy for trying to help me, but. No. I don't want to become an orphan again. And you _promised_ you would stop killing people. You almost broke your promise. _You pinky swore Yami_. Aren't you ashamed of what you almost did? "

 **"I'm ... so sorry ... Aibo ...I'm ... so ... sorry ..."**

With a sigh, Seto nodded, seeing the spirit suddenly give him a huge smile. There was still some ... things in his teeth. Ew.

The younger boy smiled softly and took off his shirt painted with red off carefully. "Aren't you going to take care of that for me?" He joked quietly.

Snorting, the ghost wrapped around the smaller one easily. Seto closed his eyes and sighed as his friend came to his wounds.

It was a very quick process. The cuts were painful, but not deep. Remembering a problem, the blue-eyed boy shook Yami out of his trance, making the supernatural being blink several times to him.

"Can you ... let the scars? I don't think that father will stay sane if the cuts sudenly disapear." The spirit growled at the man's mention, but agreed, leaving the long, thin results remain in the pale skin with disgust. His golden eyes finally laid on the leather collar wrapped tightly around the boy's neck, and with a shoked and disgusted roar, he cut the offending object into several strips with a sharp movement of his fingers. Then he started to bite the hell out of the leather leash until the brown-haired boy managed to calm him down.

"Good boy." Seto patted Yami's head with a soft smile, rubbing the sore skin of his neck and sighing before burying his face in the creature's soft chest, hugging him tightly. The ghost blinked in confusion, but held the child against him. Seto squeezed his ghost harder.

He was so happy that Yami was there. He ... didn't expect his father to hurt him like that. His dad never did these kinds of things to make him study harder... he used to say that effort was everything. He wasn't ... like this. Did he piss Gozaburo off that much by winning against him?

He shuddered.

But hah, it does not matter. He has not lost his control. He was disgusted for being whipped and called the dog, but he got to laugh last. Hahahaha...

He tried to keep his sobs down while he rubbed rebel tears off his cheeks.

He pushed harder against Yami, making the spirit lose some of his balance and stumble. He really wanted to just stay here, wrapped in the warm darkness for a few moments. Yes, his father was dying right there in the corner, but the guy could certainly survive for an hour or two, he bitterly thought.

* * *

 **(This chap got really dark O.O)**

 **I know that I take a good while to update guys, but even if I do that, I still love your comments, so please don't stop! xD. The next chap will be somewhat fluffier since that's what I like to write the most, but it'll still be kinda dark; probably. Yami doesn't want to sit down lately.**

 **Again, huge thanks to everyone. You all always make me feel so much happier when you show up in my fic stats! Thank you so much! :D :D :D**

 **(I made this one late at night, so I'll probably fix it later... please point out the mistakes you find to me!)**


	9. Together

**I AM SO SORRY.**

 **I could give you guys so many reasons for the delay, like my birthday, health problems, school, my family, my computer and the HUGE writer's block that I had but. I'm just so sorry and I promise that the next chap won't take as long to show up. I'M SO SORRY GUYS.**

 _ **Howl3,**_ **Hello again! :D. Hahaha, 'The Bag' makes a small appearance in this chap, and tiny Yami does as well! (I love tiny Yami too! c:) . Seto is like Yami's 'Yugi' in this fic. Yami would do anything for him, and NEVER would go against his wishes unless he really thought that he needed to! (It's hard to think about the sadistic things that Yami would be able to do in his shadow form, I'm glad that you enjoyed these ideas! xD.) In the series, Yami's 'sense of fashion' was totally inspired on Yugi's, so he probably won't wear any collars, and optate for trench coats, belts and the liking instead! (Some of the Aibous were left without 'u' in propose, yes, because Yami sometimes says 'Aibo!' in the sub and that was stuck in my head! xD.)**

 _ **murtagh1,**_ **That's because when I think about Season Zero animal-like shadow Yami, I can only see 'Bloodlust' and 'Sadist' in my mind, so... xD. I wouldn't mind ending Gozaburo as well, but I noticed that he was such an** _ **important**_ **person in Seto's life, in various ways. I couldn't simply kill him off, no matter how much I wanted to T.T . (I'm glad to hear that! :D). Welp, I hope that this chap satisfices your curiosity a bit! xD.**

 _ **liron-aria, (**_ **People are always adding nonsensical things to the time that Seto spend with Gozaburo... I tried to add something that made a bit of sense and reflected how cruel the man was as well. T.T). Hey, it's Season Zero Yami that we're talking about here! xD. Glad that you liked the chap title! *hugs***

 _ **starshinesholdier,**_ **Hello there! A new person! :D. Thank you so much for pointing this error out, ugh, I can't believe I didn't saw it sooner! T.T . (They were in Portuguese!) I'm so glad that you're enjoying my fic, I hope that this mistake didn't scare you off! xD.**

* * *

Gozaburo massaged his temples.

"No, haven't been drinking lately." He said with a hoarse voice.

The doctors looked at each other with what appeared to be mild suspicion.

"Are you sure, Mr. Kaiba...? You said you felt a sudden and really strong paralysis. Then your body started to burn as if acid was melting it, and you saw black but wasn't unconscious... You said that the upper part of your body was almost completely melted out by that liquid, but you didn't faint... and your skin and suit look fine, besides the holes in it. You know that that means that..."

"I don't drink when important meetings are about to take place. I'll go on a trip to America in a few months and there's just way too many things to do. I never drink when I'm so busy."

"We'll have to consider your lack of sleep as a possible reason for your-"

"Hallucinations? I know what I saw. I know what I felt. And now, I want to know the responsible for it."

The old man's grey eyes meet two shiny dark orbs peeking through the door. Noticing that he was caught, Mokuba ran away desperately, stumbling a little.

Narrowing his eyes, the CEO beckoned one of his servants to get closer.

"Bring me my briefcase. I have to see my son's great drawing skills from more closely."

"Seto!"

Mokuba arrived in the room, panting and falling on to the bed. "He's... uff... he's okay."

With a relieved sigh, the blue-eyed stroked his little bro's hair. "I'm glad. We can't lose him so soon. His company would be left for someone other than me and _I can't let that happen._ "

 **"But Aibou..."** A dark voice whispered on his ear. Seto turned around to find Yami looking at him with his (somehow worried) big yellow eyes. **"He...going... hurt..."**

Seto shushed him with a small pat on his head. "Shh, don't talk."

Yami had been feeling an excruciating pain since that one night, whispering things that sounded much like 'the shadows are angry with me' and... 'i didn't play the game'.

It was terrifying for the small brothers, because Yami seemed so sick and barely could move even after they offered him some food and cookies. That lasted some weeks, but thankfully the spirit was moving around this morning, even if he apparently wasn't completely healed.

"And I know. It's nothing you can't fix right?" The blue-eyed boy finished,a nervous smile growing on his lips.

Yami's eyes darkened even more as he drawed closer. **"Aibo..."**

"Everything will be okay Yami. _We'll_ win this." Seto hugged Yami's head, stroking it. It was easier to comfort him this way, since the ghost's body was so huge. Yami sighed against him, a hot wave of air hiting the orphan faintly on his belly. **"I...I... can't...I..."**

Yami tried to keep still, but ended up falling heavily on Seto's arms, unconscious. Mokuba ran to him, worried. The brothers knew that there wasn't anything that they could do, so they just sat here, petting their ghost while looking worriedly at each other.

"What's wrong with him Seto?" Mokuba asked with a shaky voice. "He's not going to die is he?"

"No!" The older boy replied sharply. "There's no way that he could die, he's a ghost, remember? Maybe you just tired him out today, or that's because we fed him something that he shouldn't eat. He just needs to rest, and he'll be okay."

The boy didn't sound so certain himself.

"Al...Alright then..." Mokie said. "We'll have to take care of him if that's the case..."

And they did the best that they could.

Yami recovered pretty quickly, but Seto had a bad time without him in his classes. Four painfull years of theoretical training and three stressful years of practical training. Just as Yami thought, Gozaburo wasn't intimidated enough to stop his cruel methods of 'teaching'.

It got worse.

Having to hold his trembling partner almost every night without being able to do anything to relieve his pain... his _emotional_ pain... was way to overwhelming for the dark spirit. He wanted to end Gozaburo so badly. He wanted **vengance** and **relief** but Seto's wishes were way more important than his. If his Aibou wanted that company, that _was_ what he was going to get.

But the spirit just couldn't keep still while Seto suffered. Every single night he would get into the CEO's room, fill his mind with grotesc nightmares and his body with painful but unharmful scratches. It was a temporary, but also terapeutic moment of relief.

He and Mokie did the best that they could to keep Seto healthy, the spirit was specially passionate about it. The blue eyed boy stopped to sleep and eat as much as he needed to study for his lessons on the next day and avoid meeting Gozaburo in the place he started to refer as 'The Room'. It didn't always work, and it made Seto's mind and body even fragiler than the abuse was making them be. Yami had to envelop him and strengthen the scrawny link that the Puzzle created between their mind and souls, so he could share his energy and life force with him. It was the only way to keep Seto well, because he simply _won't take a break_.

Yami felt so helpless in the first years. Thankfully Mokuba was pretty happy in his new home, because his load of work wasn't near as bad as his big brother's and he still had time to get out and play. But Seto's life was basically study, get in The Room, sleep, and study. Rarely, _very_ rarely, Gozaburo would take him in trips. The brown haired boy met various other CEOs... and their sons. The pink haired guys from Europe and... Pegasus. The ghost didn't like the guy from the start... he seemed to be after something, and he smelled weird. Seto wasn't very found of him either, even if he got some free M &W cards from him when they first met.

The physical abuse Seto suffered didn't affect him as much as... the collar thing. Yami never understood why the boy was so disgusted of dogs until he saw him in The Room for the first time. It was... horrible and humiliating, especially for someone as proud as the blue-eyed kid. Seto became really salty about other people over time, especially the humble and poor, his lessons about how they feed on richer people's feet increasing his disgust on them. Gozaburo made sure that he wouldn't trust anyone anymore, not that it was a hard lesson to put onto his head.

Yami was furious with what was happening to the innocent child that he first met. When he wasn't able to be with Seto, he stayed with Mokuba and protected him from whatever dangers showed up at the time. He was glad that Mokie didn't bother in letting him out like his brother did, but when rumours and stories about ghosts and such started to be whispered all over the mansion, he understood that he couldn't be as free as he was in the orphanage anymore, and spent most of his time rotting inside that damn bag.

He thought that their lifes were going to a bad direction... but the first few years were nothing compared to the final ones.

Hitting an more respectful height, Seto began to have more control on what was going on in the mansion. Gozaburo allowed him to get an education in a private high school, and the Kaiba heir decided to give it a try. It was an hell of a breath of fresh air. But...Deeply sore and resentful, he avoided talking to anyone other than his own family like plague, and when it wasn't possible, he acted selfishly and acidly to push the person away. His father's lessons were getting way too much on him, but it wasn't like he didn't knew what they actually wanted from the start... Money, popularity, recognition.

When Seto finally was technically 'smart enough' to take over the Kaiba Corporation, Gozaburo finally let him take care of actual parts of the company.

Especially the design parts.

Noticing that his son had a talent to create machinery, he ordered Seto to make for him dozens and dozens of things that were going to be added to a 'futuristic war simulation game', as he put it. Things like bombs, missels, war planes, tanks, guns...

Seto was the kind of person who puts his heart in everything he does. He spend entire nights designing these weapons, virtually constructing them, testing them, analysing every single detail and chances of mistake, everything.

He was creative with them. Planned them for maximum damage, with all the knowledge that he had earned from his Physics and Chemistry classes. They were cheap, destructive and _deadly._ He was so proud of himself when he finally finished all those projects and received a small pat on his head from Gozaburo's words. He felt happy. He felt content. It was like all those hours of studying were paying off! He made tons of realistic and amazing things that would entertain people all over the world when the game was finally out!

But things weren't as good as Seto thought...

They discovered it late at night.

Seto needed to take some more weapon designs to his father's office. But to do that, he needed to get past the meeting room. He was almost getting through the corridor when strange sounds caught his attention.

Peeking through a small space on the door, he saw that Gozaburo had reunited various men to watch something on the huge screen of the room. They were talking boredly while drinking wine and taking notes. Seto's curiosity made him turn his neck in a way he could see what they were watching. His eyes widened.

At first, he gave a big smile when he saw his creations being so realisticaly displayed on the screen, but his hapiness slowly turned into horror when realised... the scenes were way too real.

These weren't fake explosions of fake screams. There was real blood being shed, real children crying over moveless dead bodies. Seto back out slowly as the horrible scenes were still sadistically being displayed right in front of his eyes, his papers falling innocently on the floor. He stifled a terrified whimper before running as fast as he could back to his bedroom.

Grey eyes followed the sudden movement from inside the room.

Yami had to hold Seto tighter that night. The boy wouldn't stop sobbing, saying incoherent things about death over and over again, and the spirit simply didn't know what to do about it. He never knows. He w _anted_ to confort Seto. He wanted so badly. But his numb and tormented mind couldn't fully comprehend what exactly was happened to make his aibou so upset. He was receiving images covered with black and red through their bond, along with a weird, deafening sound and a painful feeling of grief. He knew that it should mean something, just like the words that he was finally learning to mimic from his aibou but... he just... couldn't understand.

It made him so mad, with whoerever did this and with himself. He wanted to get revenge but he didn't know who had hurt his partner this time. There was no clear image of the culprit...

He just murmured soothing songs and hold Seto still with his warm arms until the sobs vanished and faint sighs took their place. Getting into bed and covering himself and the not-so-little-kid with the heavy covers, he used his friend as a teddy bear, swallowing hard.

Why...?

Why was he witless like this?

Death, wrath, the bittersweet taste of revenge... these were everything he knew. He barely could 'talk' to his partner without sending subliminal messages to him through the link to make him understand. During most of the time, he felt like if he has just half of a brain. He didn't even mind being called a 'pet' before, until his aibous told him that it wasn't a good thing. He was supposed to protect his friends. This was the only thing in his mind for a long, long time... if only he was smarter. Maybe he could understand what his friends want of him. Maybe he could resolve things in a more civilized way. Maybe he could help Seto when he starts to sob like he did today.

Maybe he wouldn't act so much like... a thing.

He dig his dark claws in the thick covers.

The spirit changed after that day. All the time he didn't spend with the brothers was spend into learning and 'becoming more human'. He sneaked on Seto's classes and spied on the servants for entire days... and now being able to comprehend and say more complex phrases, Yami had a better understanding of what exactly was occurring inside that damned place.

And it was driving him mad.

Seto wasn't just being forced to study until he barely could stand. He was also being forced to create weapons to destroy entire families. Families like his own used to be.

And that... that broke his partner. Yami never cared so much about other's lives, but his aibou was so much more... human than he was. So much kinder. And even if Yami couldn't understand exactly what he felt, he knew that if it didn't stop, Seto would be permanently scarred, for the rest of his life. He already was becoming colder...

The spirit knew what Gozaburo was doing. Everything, _every single thing_ he did was planned out, made especially to change Seto into a monster.

The long nights he spend awake studying were a way to suppress his conscious judgment, to make him stop caring about others. Kaiba Corporation was actually focused in the war marked. Seto couldn't be sensitive if he was going to take over this huge mess of a company someday. The... collar and all of the other... _tools_ were made especially to make Seto submissive and athirst for control. He knew that it was everything the boy had, and that he would be lost if someone took it away from him. No matter how Yami much _hated_ the situation, he understood Gozaburo's motives. He wanted to leave his company in safe hands...

... and which hands could be better than his own?

With a sigh, he nuzzled Seto's cheek, watching him finish his homework. Today was a good day. He had no trouble keeping up with his studies, and was able to meet all the targets way faster than normal. He wasn't going to visit The Room today.

Yami hid in Seto's shirt when the teacher returned to the room, taking all school supplies before leaving. The boy looked confused for a few moments... the occasions where he could just stop and think of anything other than calculations or cientific theories were so rare in his present life. He immediately felt a deep sleep taking over his body.

The spirit came out of hiding in order to grab the small orphan and cover him with his body, warming him. The boy was sleeping in a few moments.

Floating to the bed, he snuggled Seto in the blankets. He would need to rest well tonight, since he would have extra classes from tomorrow on. Yami knew that the man who would teach him was a bald guy with big round glasses. He was the kind of person that made the room's temperature drop several degrees just by entering it... Yami had a bad feeling about all of this.

Coiling around Seto, he waited until dawn of the next day.

When the sun was up, he left the room. His black claws clinked against the walls as he ran through them, looking out for preys.

In few minutes, the mansion was deserted.

Since no one was wandering around the rooms, it was easy to Yami get to the kitchen. He returned to Seto's room with everything he could find in the pantry and waited for the boy to wake up eagerly, his tentacles waving excitedly from side to side.

Seto opened his eyes slowly, rubbing them. They immediately widened as he saw the huge variety of food floating around his bed. Rubbing his eyes, he looked again and sighed in relief... they were just being held by black tentacles, which were hard to see through the darkness surrounding the room. Greeting the floating golden face with a soft smile, he turned on the lights; still amazed at the amount of food.

"Yami...? What did you-"

The ghost interrupted him by pushing a delicious dessert right in front of his nose. Seto felt the addictive smell and made a strangled sound before pushing the dark appendage away.

"No. Father won't let me eat something like that. My Martial Art classes will restart in a few weeks and I-"

A pitiful whimper disrupted Seto's rant. With a sigh, the boy prepared to deny Yami again when his stomach protested firmly - and noisily. The ghost seemed to have raised an eyebrow at him, amused.

"Alright!" The blue eyed boy huffed in frustration, grabbing the candy and sticking it in his mouth. He groaned happily with the taste, trying to ignore his spirit's huge smile. Gozaburo normally prohibited this kind of goodies... it had been so long since he had tasted something sweet.

Yami began to move happily around the room, making excited noises. Seto laughed at the silly face the ghost was making before patting the dark head.

"There, there. Don't get too excited. Father will end up hearing you and coming here to see what's happening." The teen shuddered at the thought.

Yami just hung his tail up the ceiling lamp and swung from one side to another cheerfully. Shaking his head, Seto got up and dressed. At least Yami was no longer making noises.

Devouring his breakfast, Seto moaned with satisfaction before sighing to remember all of his day tasks. The dark spirit looked curiously at him.

Letting Yami hide in his clothes, the young man went to have his first class. In the classroom, he waited, waited ... and waited. No one appeared, and after nearly two hours of waiting, it became obvious that no one would come. Apparently one of the teachers would be fired soon.

Curious, the heir of Kaiba Corporation walked on tiptoe to the door and peered through it. For the first time since he woke up, he realized how quiet the mansion was. Not that it was noisy during the day, but there was no way to dozens of servants do their jobs in full silence, especially now that a new regime would be imposed on them with Seto's different schedule.

After a lot of hesitation, the boy decided to leave the classroom's security and silently walked through the halls, looking for signs of life ... but there was nothing there. Not in the rooms. Or in the kitchen. Or even in the garden.

The mansion was deserted.

Taken by confusion, Seto was about to formulate a theory when he noticed two bright golden eyes blinking at him from his shirt collar.

"Yami ...? What did you do?" The teenager asked with a slight tone of horror in his voice.

The ghost just purred and rubbed his cheek against the younger's neck. Seto knew it wasn't anything bad then. Yami would at least had the decency of looking guilty if that was the case.

"What happened to the staff?" He insisted.

Blinking, the gooey being jumped out of his shirt, sticking on the wall. His golden eyes blurred in concentration as his body metamorphosed on the limpid, concrete surface. It seems that Yami was way too lazy to explain it with words.

Blue eyes watched in awe as shadows formed figures on the wall. A woman, apparently dressed in maid's accessories, arranging items in a closet. The familhar image of a giant being with spiky, dark hair advancing on the young lady. The shadow retreating slowly. The woman lying unconscious on the floor.

"Did you...?"

Hearing Seto babble in a frightened way, Yami made small wavering "Z" s appear on the figure's head.

"They're all sleeping?" Seto's voice was almost a sigh of relief.

 **"Yea...ea..."** The adorable monster nodded in assertion, a silly smile on his face.

Laughing, the heir to the Kaiba name pulled the spirit out of the wall, detaching him from it and stroking his hair. Yami shrieked happily with the attention.

"Thank you for trying to give me some free time." The young man muttered, his now deep voice filled with suppressed joy. The ghost purred, rising over the teenager's tall body. A cheeky smile appeared on his face.

 **"I thought that you would've be enraged because of that?"**

The deep voice rumbled through the corridors, which certainly would alert someone... if everyone wasn't sleeping. The rumbling sound was like several voices whispering the same words, and it sent shivers through Seto's spine every time he heard it. Sadly, he wasn't able to hear Yami speak very often thanks to the unpredictable volume... sometimes as low as a whisper, sometimes as loud as a huge wave breaking on the beach... deafening, but surprisingly pleasant.

"Who said that I'm not annoyed by it? You're delaying my entire scredule."

 **"I have a good reason."**

"You're just bored."

 **"Maybe. You haven't played with me since the orphanage."** The misshapen face crumpled even more with the pathetic attempt to form a pout.

"I'm too old for this kind of thing. You should grow up as well Yami, you can't keep being a big baby for all etern-"

The teenager's words dissolved into a scream when a large black hand grabbed his torso and lifted him off the ground.

"Yam-"

He wasn't able to finish speaking because the spirit began to float through the corridors at an incredible speed. The amount of sharp curves and the nauseating speed made him hold his mouth grievously to keep his breakfast in place.

Suddenly, a white light blinded their eyes when Yami broke through the mansion's back door. The ghost stopped so abruptly that Seto could feel his organs shaking inside his body. It was only then he realized that he was clutching on Yami's jelly body as if his life depended on it.

Blushing, he released the spirit, who laughed hysterically with his deep voice. They were at the back of the mansion's huge terrain... where remained the pools. Mokuba was floating on his back in one of them, lying on a float and holding a glass of lemonade in his hand.

When he heard someone approaching, he lifted his sunglasses.

"Nii-sama! Yami-san! Come in here with me!" He seemed super excited about the idea, waving his free arm with a big smile on his face.

It wasn't that this was a bad day for swimming in the pool. The sun was shining, there were flowers and birds everywhere ... and it was _freaking_ _HOT._

But still...

Kaiba hesitated to approach. The fact that all the servants of the house were sleeping and his father was probably also unconscious not calmed him down enough so he could swim without worry. There were still so many things to do, so much to compensate for and ...

He screamed as many tentacles wrapped around his body and threw him in the water.

Blue enveloped him from all sides as his body was refreshed by the cold liquid. He desperately swam to the surface, only to find a Mokuba and Yami laughting their heads off. Seto clenched his jaw and did the first thing that would bring the minimum of satisfaction with a vengeance.

He splashed water all over their annoying smiling faces.

Mokuba fell out of his float and the upper half of Yami's body melted down, making him get out of balance and fall into the pool as well.

Kaiba started to laugh as he never did before in that God-dammed mansion.

Mokie and his spirit looked at him with utter shock.

But then, they smiled and started to laugh as well, teaming up to splash Seto. The future CEO shielded himself from the 'attacks' with his arms, laughting all the way through.

They played during the whole day. For the first in a long, long time, the blue eyed teen was sincerely happy. The three of them finally had the chance to run around the huge mansion, to eat whatever they wanted from the dispense, and to just... lay in the ground and look at the ceiling, underneath the fancy fan and pant after so much chasing around. The relief was... overwhelming. Seto's cheeks began to hurt from so much smiling as he sat in the yard, looking at the warm colors from the sunset.

Stars began to show up in the orange-colored sky, and the smile slowly started to fade from Kaiba's face.

"Tomorow will be just like the other days, won't it." He muttered.

Yami, who was towering right beside him, looked at his aibou with sad eyes. A sleeping Mokuba was resting on his shadow-like arms, and the spirit played with the black hair lazily while formulating a response.

 **"Aibou..."** He sighed. **"There's only one way to end all of this."**

"No. I know what you're thinking." The blue eyed young man looked away and closed his eyes."And I know that he _deserves_ it too."

The bitterness in his voice made Yami shiver.

"But... I've been trying way too long... and way too hard to stop now."

Blue eyes filled with emotions looked up to depressed yellow ones. He smiled.

"Thank you. I needed a break... I really needed it. But... we'll have to work a bit more if we want to be like this everyday."

With a sigh, Yami put Mokie over one of the pool chairs. He turned over to Seto, his huge body slowly compressing and becaming smaler as he tried to take an humanoid form once again.

Flexing his now normal-like black fingers, Yami approached again and sat down beside his aibou. Seto looked at him, an unwanted smile appearing on his lips again.

Flexing his now normal-like black fingers, Yami approached again and sat down beside his aibou. Seto looked at him, an unwanted smile appearing on his lips again.

Yami has been trying to take a humanoid form for so long. He can't stand being a 'monster' anymore. Sadly, he can't change his shadow body so he just tries to make it the right shape. It was very weird when he first started doing that... he would end up with three legs or one eye, but with his constant practice, he became really... well, cute. His body was extremely small compared to Seto's, but his eyes were still huge. His hair became more fluffy somehow, and Kaiba couldn't help but look at him from time to eyes blinked innocently to him, making Seto blush and look away, swallowing hard.

 **"I... I don't think that I can stand this anymore Seto."**

Yami's voice was so much softer in this form...

"Please... Do it for me." The teen pleaded softly.

Yami's eyes were on him again, making Seto shiver. He didn't know why this form of Yami had this effect on him... though even his shapeless form let him moveless sometimes.

 **"I'll... I'll try. I promise."**

That stupid smile again. Kaiba couldn't help but giggle at it.

"I'm glad."

The peaceful silence was established between them, as they both watched the setting sun. It was true that their lives would be more difficult over time, but they were sure they could get over everything that was thrown to them.

Together.

* * *

 **An HUGE chap to make up with you guys! (SORRY!)**

 **It was hard to chose between making a time-skip and writting everything through, but I figured that it would be boring to read things that are basicaly the same since Seto's life doesn't change much during these seven years. Some f*cked up things happen, and Yami gets a bit smarter, but that's basically it. (Also, I was dying to write teen!Seto and start the Prideship!). Hope I didn't rush things too much, and that you all still like it!**

 **A BIG THANK YOU for everyone who faved, commented, followed, and read my story! I'm so glad that you're all enjoying this with me, it makes my day! :D**


	10. It's been a long time

_**murtagh1,**_ **Hi there! :D. I'm so glad that you liked the previous chap! :3 . Ha, you don't know how badly I wanted to kill Gozaburo off, but he had an important part in Seto's arc, and I couldn't simply do that! xD. (Yami wishes that I would let him, Muaha!) I'm not sure about Yami's body :\ . I don't want to use the cliché 'Ancient Egyptian Spell' or the 'The Gods gave him a body' thing, even if I love romantic clichés like the sunset, as you saw it! xD. Seto was 15 last chap, and he is 16 now. Yami has a indeterminated age, but the boys like to say that he's 8. (He isn't amused by it. xD) Thank you! :D.**

 _ **liron-aria,**_ **Thank you! :D :D. You can expect more KaiYami interactions from now on! ;)**

 _ **Guest (Howl3 is that you?)**_ **Hello! And thank you! :D :D. Thankfully, I'll have more time in my hands now, so I'll be able to update more often! ;). YES, I've waited to write Prideshipping since you guys accepted it as well xD. I can't wait to write a romantic relationship~~ :D. I hope you're feeling better now! :0. And thank you again!**

 _ **Starshinesoldier,**_ **Hello there! :D. Thank you so much for commenting on the earlier chaps as well~~ . Sorry for the problem with language again x.x . Tehehe, it's not bad xD. Gozaburo is a terrible being! I'm also hopping that we'll get to see what Yami did to him later... (You welcome! xD. It** _ **was**_ **my mistake after all! ^.^; )**

* * *

 **"Are you sure you want to do this, aibou?"**

"Yeah."

 **"There's no need to do that, you know."**

"My image is important. I have to serve as an example now that the company is focused on children. What kind of parent would let their child buy products from a company whose CEO is a 'kid' who hasn't even been to school? Besides, Mokuba-"

 **"But do you** _ **have**_ **to go on** _ **this**_ **particular school...? Everyone says that it's one of the most violent in the entire city."**

"I'm actually looking foward to it. If anyone tries anything, you'll be able to have fun. It's been a long time since you've taken a bite out of someone." The calm voice was littered with surpressed laughter.

 **"Hmn. I remember the time when you were terrified just from thinking about me hurting something."** The ghost side-eyed his partner curiously.

"It was a long time ago. I was naive and innocent. I didn't know how to use the power that was in my hands." The young man sighed, caressing the golden Puzzle that was carefully resting on his chest.

 **"Am I just a weapon to you, Seto?"** Yami's voice was emotionless, but his ominous stare gave out every single thing that was troubling his mind.

"No. Don't ever say that again. If you weren't were, I don't know what might have happened with Mokie and me." The CEO whispered, running his fingers through his spirit's dark hair.

Yami sighned in contement.

 **"I'm glad."**

A pleasant silence enveloped them as they both looked out the limousine's window. Seto was still wearing the same attire he used during his father's funeral, which took place few days ago. Yami didn't understand the reason for him continue to wear that white suit ... that was a major highlight in the black sea of Gozaburo's burial. The young man's eyes were empty since then, as if he had lost part of his being and didn't know where to go or what he should do after that.

The spirit didn't blame him.

Maybe going to this school was actually a good idea. Who knows, maybe if Seto had contact with normal people of his own age he could become more cheerful again without the help of so many arcade games or tournaments prizes. Maybe he wouldn't be so obsessed with winning every single game that was thrown on his way ...

"What's wrong?"

The spirit sighed in surprise. Looking up, he saw those soft blue eyes gazing at him fondly ... with a small hint of concern. The CEO's hand caressed his neck, right on that particular point that made him go limp and rigid at the same time. The ghost moaned softly and snuggled even more against the teenager's warm body.

 **"Nothing."**

The drive went on for a good thirty minutes. Yami melted, almost literally, on the leather seat while Seto rubbed his neck. He could have sworn there was a sadistic gleam in the brunnete's eyes as he pleasured him enough to make him unable to get up.

Since his torture classes started, he lost most of what remained from his compassion and sensibility towards others. As usual, Yami had no idea of what this kind of education could do to help his aibou in later life. It wasn't like he himself didn't know everything that was being teached to the blue eyed teen on that class, but he didn't think Seto needed... or even should know these kinds of things. He was there. If Seto needed to use his dark knowledge, he just had to ask. That's why he was here after all.

The man who teached Seto on this class was very disturbing... Yami couldn't wait for the day his aibou would let him show that guy a new trick or two.

 **"Do you think that we'll find something valuable in this place?"**

"Heh, I doubt it. We'll be lucky if this trashcan houses something other than amateurs and punks."

The ghost let out a soft purr as the CEO began to stroke his head this time. There was something in the icy blue eyes... but the spirit wasn't sure of what it meant. He has been seeing this look in Seto's face even since he was like... ten, and it keep appearing at random times. He didn't saw it in Mokie's face, nor in the servant's faces though... he simply had no idea of what it was.

Golden eyes widened when a warm huff reached his forehead. Yami blinked as soft lips caressed his skin before pressing against it. He felt... all warm and weird inside... why was his aibou tasting his head?

With a sigh, Seto pulled away and smiled cheerfully for him.

"Do you remember what day it is?" He whispered on his spirit's ear.

Yami gulped. He was _very_ bad at remembering things.

 **"Hum... is it... hmmm... "**

If Yami could sweat, he certanly would be doing it right now.

Laughing, the CEO ended the ghost's struggle.

"Today is the day we met, Yami. Your birthday."

The dark spirit muttered a soft 'Oh' as he looked down awkwardly. He hated forgeting his own 'birthday' from all dates. He was able to remember Seto's and Mokie's just fine, but remembering his... was still a work on progress.

Yami sighed loudly when his aibou's warm lips touched the side of his head.

"Don't worry." Seto whispered, making the spirit shiver at how close he was from his ear. "I've prepared everything already."

 **"T-T-Thank... you... ?"**

Yami swallowed dry once more as the CEO's hands pulled him to the other's lap. That... thing was filling Seto's eyes again. He felt one of his hands caressing his arm, slowly going up to his shoulder, neck, cupping his face...

 **"A-Aibou?"**

"Yami..."

The spirit started to pant shyly, looking at the emotion filled blue eyes and then away, feeling a warmth rising up to his cheeks as the CEO caressed them fondly. The ghost's breath hitched when he felt Seto's warm breath right over his mouth, and getting closer... and closer...

 **"S-Seto..."**

"Yami..."

A knock on the car's door interupted whatever was happening between them.

"Young master... we're here." Isono's voice informed them quietly. Yami cackled a bit when he thought about how red the man's face must be.

Isono was living with them since he got out of the orphanage. About a year after Seto left, Isono reached eighteen years old, and had to get out of his home. Soon he was desperate for a job, but wasn't able to find anything... anywhere. Domino was lacking jobs at the time, and a young, inexperienced man like him didn't stand a chance to the mass of experienced, unemployed people. On his despair, he volunteered for the only available job... at the feared Kaiba Corporation.

The rumours about this place were wild. No one with the slightest amout of money or common sense ever wanted to work there, and it was said that the ones who did never returned the same way they got in. Isono didn't even know what job he volunteered for.

But he had no choice.

Thankfully, he never got to know what would be his function in the 'hell company', all thanks to the small orphan he used to talk to when they shared the same room. He never knew how, but Seto was able to 'pull the strings' and put him in place of some servant that aparently disappeared some weeks before he showed up to get the job.

Seto never was very talkative during their time in the orphanage. Actually, he barely talked to anyone but his little brother, and spent most of his free time inside their room. Still, Isono was grateful. He didn't fully believe the rumours about Kaiba Corp... but he was glad that he wouldn't risk proving them true.

As the years passed, Isono became one of, if not the most loyal of Seto's servants. Without anything or anyone to rely on in his own home, he ended up basically living with the brothers. Mokuba adored him since the orphanage, and was ecstatic with that. Seto was happy too, but he was bothered by a problem... Isono still didn't know about Yami. Well, he DID know, but he probably thought that his first 'meeting' with the ghost was just a bad dream. And THAT definitely would bring issues. Seto didn't want to keep Yami as a secret, especially not after Isono proved to be a valuable and trustworthy ally.

The memory of Isono's face when they 'formally met' was still hilarious to Yami and he chuckled whenever it went through his mind.

He was glad to see that Seto's servant was truly a good-hearted and loyal man, even if a bit coward... but he could understand Isono's fear. He wasn't too friendly to strangers. But it wasn't hard to grow attached to the gentle man, and the blushes that appeared on his face every once in a while were priceless. Yami wasn't sure of why the man got so flushed... maybe it has something to do with Seto being all touchy with his ghost...? Isono must be angry because he isn't getting any hugs.

"We're leaving." Seto said a bit acidly, picking up his briefcase with a frown and getting out of the car. The ghost looked at his aibou with confusion before following him and coiling around his neck. Since Seto became a CEO, they had to become really creative with their ways of hiding Yami. A living scarf was one of them.

While Seto talked to the school's director and arranged his place in the class, Yami fell in a coma-like sleep. It was easier to pretend to be a clothing article this way.

When Seto finaly sat down on his desk, his spirit was already sleeping peacefully. With a warm smile, he caressed his 'scarf' before focusing in looking around the class.

Ordinary. Simple. Shabby.

Ew.

Blue eyes scanned the room, stopping when they fell on shiny, violet orbs that were staring at him curiously.

Seto's breath hitched.

Various emotions rushed inside his chest, going from frustation to sadness and a bittersweet mix of happiness and guilt. His face instinctively scrunched up before he forced himself to make a cheerful smile.

"Yuugi-kun. It's been a long time."

Violet eyes widened when Yugi realized who _exactly_ he was talking to.

"Seto-kun!"

His name was said so happily that Seto forgot for a moment that this... this _boy_ had let him and his little brother waiting and waiting _for months_ in vain for him to comeback after an empty promise and fake smiles. This... ugh.

Yugi had grown up, but not near as much as Seto did. He still had his sparkly purple eyes and his huge smile, but the taller teen was able to see a... darkness deep inside the amethyst orbs. Something like... sadness. Helplessness. Hopelessness. The look of someone that lost their will to live.

Seto knew that look. He saw it way more often than he would like.

Yugi was still ostenting a happy, but weak... almost shy smile. Seto felt anger running through his body, but was able to show the world a gentle face instead. All of his teachings were paying off greatly again as usual.

"I didn't expect to meet you here!"

 _I bet you didn't._

"How are you..." The smaller teen looked at the other's expensive clothes and at his tall, healthy body before stammering shyly:

"I-I guess you found a good home, didn't you? Congratulations!"

 _You have no idea._ " Yes, I guess you could say that. Thank you."

An awkward silence fell between them. Yugi quickly looked away from the menacing blue-eyes, focusing on playing with his fingers. He seemed nervous and... guilty?

Seto pulled a random book from his bag and spend the classes simply ignoring the stressed boy right beside him. When the teacher was finally saying something slightly utile, the business man put the book down. Seeing his chance, the tricolor haired teen was just about saying something to Kaiba when the school bell rang. Getting up, the CEO arranged his clothes with small pats. The Puzzle swung from side to side over his chest.

Yugi's eyes widened even more than before as he let out a small gasp.

Seto felt a felling of dread run through his body. He shivered lightly, grabbing the Puzzle and stroking it with his fingers as he left as fast as he could without looking desesperate.

 _Shit!_

He looked back and saw that Yugi pratically flew off his chair, stumbling as he ran after him.

"Seto-kun! Wait!" The boy's voice was pratically littered with despair.

 _SHIT!_

Kaiba finally started to run when he reached a curve, his long legs making it easy to let the small boy behind and run off his sight.

He didn't stop until he got to the limousine.

Panting, he took Yami off his neck. Missing the heat, the ghost slowly woke up, regaining his humanoid form as he stretched happily beside his aibou. Speaking of which...

 **"...Aibou?"**

Blue eyes turned to him in record time. Yami shrieked when Seto's arms locked him in a tight embrace.

 **"Aibou?"**

"You're NOT being taken away from me!"

Yami's face scrunched up in confusion.

 **"Of course not...? What happened, aib...AARGHH!"**

Seto was way stronger than when he was a child! Yami felt as if the teen wanted to squeeze his soul off his body! Actually, he was almost sure that some of his yellow liquid was squeezed out of his eyes.

 **"A...Aibo...ugh... who... who did this to you? Are... are you hurt? If someone did anything to you I** _ **swear**_ **that I'll..."**

"No." Seto sighed. He seemed to have calmed down a little bit, but he was still panting, and if Yami guessed it right, still shivering as well. "I was... I was overreacting. Nothing important happened. I was just... I just thought that..."

 **"Aibou..."**

The teen shaked his head.

"It's okay. Everything is okay. I was just paranoid. There's no way that..." Seto's words vanished as he pressed the Puzzle harder against his chest.

"The recess will end soon. Go back to sleep."

Yami hesitantly obliged, looking at the CEO with worried eyes. Kaiba took off the Puzzle and coiled the black 'scarf' around his neck. He searched for some cloths around the expensive automobile and packed the golden artifact with them before carefully pushing it inside his bag. Yami couldn't spend much time away from that thing. If it was taken away by it's previous 'owner' Yami will...

Shaking his head again, Seto pushed the bad thoughts far away from his mind.

 _Hn. As if the midget would be able to take it from me or something._

* * *

 **Yep, Yugi hadn't make his leave yet. Will this bring problems to Seto's and Yami's relationship? No one knows...**

 ***Seto canonicaly had torture classes. In the manga, of course. I think this is hinted on the Death T chapter were the Yugi-tashi is forced to ride a ferris whell that has eletric chairs instead of ordinary chairs. If you scream, you're zapped to death. I'm not sure though, maybe it was in earlier chapters instead ^.^; .**

 **Yes, we still don't know what exactly happened to Gozaburo. I don't want to ruin the dramatic scene where Yugi and Jou discover about how he died, (that happened only in the manga, I think.) so I'll only tell what happened when we get there! :D**

 **This chapter was a bit smaller than usual, but I hope that you all still like it! Again, thank you very much for commenting, faving, following and reading my fic! That's what makes me happier and inspired to write more! :D**


	11. Mine

**IMPORTANT: There will be a HUGE flashback on this chap, that'll be written in** _ **italic**_ **, Ok? ;)**

 _ **murtagh1,**_ **Seto won't be able to restrain himself from Yami for too long so things'll get even more exciting! x'D. (You'll see...). Yep, poor Isono! xD. Seto'll find a way! ;). And you'll see in this chap! (Well, at least part of it, haha!)**

 _ **Howl3,**_ **You again! :D :D :D . (It's a shame that you aren't felling better :c . Hope that you'll be soon though!) Tehehe, it makes me happy as a writter as well! xD. Sadly, I'll have to cover other important things so their relationship will have to wait a bit until next chap! ;-; (Probably). I'm so glad that you liked these scenes, since they're also some of my favorites, haha! I'm still putting Yugi's story together, so I'm not sure. But I DO know that he'll be** _ **very**_ **linked to Yami's story ^..^ . Sadly, these things will have to wait a little more~~ this chap might look like a filler, but it's** _ **very**_ **important for the future of the fic, so be patient, please! ;).**

The rest of the day was unsurprisingly stressful. Yugi basically interrogated Seto the second he stepped back on the room. The CEO had a hard time trying to trick the teen into thinking that his Puzzle was fake.

"I've made this thing about two years ago." He lied. "I really liked your Puzzle, and I tried to recreate it with steel and some gold plating. I don't think I succeeded though, this one was way too easy to put together."

At least he wasn't _completely_ lying. He _did_ like the Puzzle and he _did_ make some copies of it... but it was mostly to experiment with Yami and see if he could walk further away from the original Puzzle if many copies were laying around... It didn't work.

"Oh..." The purple eyed boy muttered. Kaiba had the unconfortable feeling that Yugi didn't believe him, even though he had asked Isono to bring him one of the many Puzzle copies so he could hide the true one while wearing the fake. He doubted that the short teen was able to tell the difference between steel and real gold, but still... he saw distrust in the other's eyes, as if Yugi was able to tell the real thing from the custom one somehow.

Thankfully, the last class was going to be over soon. Seto didn't learn anything new here, his entire day was basically wasted and now he has all this weird weight on his shoulders. He felt like he did something really, _really_ wrong, but couldn't put his finger on it. He decided to simply pack his things and get out of the room.

As he left, Yami quivered softly around his neck. Seto imediately hold him in place and looked worriedly at him. The spirit... was about to wake up. Kaiba walked faster when he noticed that. How... weird. Yami usually didn't move until he took him off. What could be bothering his ghost so much?

When he arrived at his limousine, Yami unfolded himself and opened his huge, bright yellow eyes. Returning his body to a monster-like, familiar shape, he looked around as if about to slay someone... and then did it again curiously as he realized that no one was there to be slaughtered. His eyes fell on Seto as he turned his head to the side curiously.

 **"Did... did you call out for me?"** He whispered.

The ghost's voice was filled with confusion and concern.

"N...No...?" Seto muttered, worried with what may be happening to his dark spirit. Yami simply shook his head and looked from side to side again.

 **"But I... I was so sure that..."**

"Sure that...?"

 **"That... that you were in danger."**

Seto blinked in surprise.

"Why...?"

 **"I... I don't know. I just felt like... as if you were calling me through our link. As if you were in danger, in pain and... scared."**

The ghost mumbled softly when his aibou held his huge chin and stroked his hair, pressing his head against the teenager's chest. Seto pushed Yami closer, fervously hoping that it _wasn't_ what he's thinking.

"Yami. You _aren't_ coming to school with me anymore."

The CEO practically _felt_ Yami's eyes widening against his chest. Raising up his head, the ghost looked at his aibou with a agape, shocked look.

 **"W-Why...? Did I do something wrong? I promise that I won't do it again aibou! I promise!"**

"No, no, it wasn't you. I want you to do this for your own safety."

 **"My... safety? But aibou! I'M the one supposed to protect you! I won't let you go to this dangerous place alone!"**

"I'm not asking."

 _ **"Aibou!"**_

"Yami. Don't make this harder than it needs to be. If you insist I'll be forced to let the Puzzle inside the safe box while I go to school for now on."

 **"Aibou..."**

"You don't want to make company to my Blue-Eyes, do you?"

 **"..."**

The drive back home was pretty unsettling. Yami wasn't saying anything, since his mind was littered with frustration, sadness and confusion. What did he do wrong? _What did he do wrong?_ He just obeyed everything Seto said. He slept all the time just as Seto said. He pretended to be a simple cloth just as Seto said. So _why._ _Why he was being treated like this?_

Seto's mind was a storm of emotions. He had that terrible feeling that something _bad_ was going to happen soon. Something that would ravage and take everything that he worked so hard for. Something that would end the fragile feelings of belonging and happiness that he, Mokie and Yami finaly gained against all odds. But it was just a feeling... there's no way that something that bad could happen. Yami was there. His company was there, along with all his servants. If something happened, it wasn't like he wouldn't be able to fix it quickly enough. So why he was so... worried?

There's no time to be unsettled for nothing. If Yami is home, he won't have any reason to feel like that anyway. Yami'll be safe, even if that leaves he himself open for attacks. He isn't worried. He knows a respectable diversity of martial arts, and his torture classes are still fresh on his mind. Without Yami his day'll be... weird and empty, but that's for the best.

When they arrived at the mansion, Yami silently followed Seto through the corridors, practically dragging himself behind the other. They never had spend so much time in complete silence... at least not together. Kaiba's face was lacking any sign of emotion, making a heavy weight fall over Yami's shoulders as he pondered once again what he might have done wrong.

As Seto opened a random door, Yami unconsciously followed, still deep in his thoughts.

That's until tons of colors exploded right before his eyes, almost making him jump instantly into monster form. The tiny squares fell all over the room as Yami was still recovering from the sudden scare. He looked around in utter shock.

Three tables covered with sweets and desserts were set near the place's blue walls. The spirit recognized some of his favorite brands of sweets and cookies filling expensive crystal bowls and dishes. There where some other kinds of food too, like meats, salads and soups, but these weren't the only things decorating the table.

Flowers. Every single kind of flower. The colorful, beautiful living beings where set all around the delicious dishes. Their pleasant smell made Yami's senses blur for some wonderful moments.

He loved flowers. Spending time laid in he garden, right next to them was heaven. Such delicate, gorgeous things that smelled so good. Seto must have taken note of how much time he spend there and...

Yami felt tears pilling up in the back of his eyes.

Beside the exotic and magnificent flowers, colorful squares lazily fell to the floor from somewhere in the ceilling... the spirit was too busy looking at everything in pure awe to worry about where these were coming from.

"Mokuba insisted on the confetti..." Seto muttered shyly, looking to the side as a light blush filled his face.

"SURPRISE!" Mokuba jumped happily out of his hiding place behind his brother and ran closer to their ghost, shaking his arms and throwing even more colorful and shiny things to the poor spirit's face. Yami shook his head and sneezed, making the tiny squares float everywhere. Seto made a disgusted sound when some the glittery things attached to his hair.

 **"Seto... Mokie... w-what... ?"**

Kaiba's eyebrow raised bemusedly.

"Your birthday."

Yami gasped when the tiniest Kaiba brother glomped him, just like he did when they first met.

"Happy Birthday!" Mokuba screamed against his dark chest.

Looks like someone has been eating way too many things from the desserts table.

 **"T-Thank you... little aibou..."** Yami muttered, ruffling the little boy's hair. Laughing, Mokuba immediately broke up the hug and ran to the tables to pick up a cube-like object. Yami shrieked when the same item was practically shoved on his face, bliking to the small kid in confusion.

"Open it, Yami! C'mon, do it!" Mokie pushed the box to the amorphous hands.

The spirit lubberly held the pink cube, bringing it closer to his face to examine it. It was... a pink box wrapped with red silk. Curious, he grabbed the ribbon and tried to take it off by pulling it... only to tighten it's grip on the gift... thing.

"No! Here, let me do this for you-"

"Mokuba." Seto warned him with a serious, dark tone. His little brother flinched midway and looked up to him with sorrowful eyes. Both of them knew that Yami hates to be treated like he isn't able to perform things like they do... even if he doesn't actually have much choice. It's just something that he's trying to live with... and failing. Mokie was so excited to see Yami opening his presents that he forgot how sensitive their ghost actually is, and looked down shyly when he realized that he might have ruined the spirit's day.

 **"There's no need for that, Seto. Mokie just wanted to help."** Yami's voice was low, tamed.

Kaiba's eyes softened as he saw his spirit trying to open the present box various times, just to ruin the red ribbon instead. He approached his ghost, held the dark hand on his own and guided Yami through it, teaching him how to open his gift.

The spirit shivered when he felt his aibou holding his hand. Then his yellow eyes widened as he realized how _easy_ opening a gift actually was. His cheeks became warm again... he wanted to run away and hide after this, but he simply didn't have the heart to ruin the small party his aibous arranged to him, so he suppressed the shame as best as he could.

Inside the pink box was... a collar?

Yami's body instantly became stiff and spiky as he tried to back away from the _thing._

Seto's arms kept him tightly in place.

"Calm down. It's not what you think."

The softness in Seto's voice made Yami's breath slowly turn back to normal.

Upon Mokie's confused gaze, the older Kaiba brother grabbed the leather collar and brought it closer to Yami's eyes.

It was a black collar with metallic spikes. Dark blue 'KC' symbols were printed all over the leather, probably the most expensive one in the market, if Yami knew his aibou well. Where the ghost assumed that was the front part was a metallic plaque in the format of a Magic and Wizards card with of course, the 'KC' logo on it as well. Kaiba pressed something on the side of the metallic card and it opened up, revealing-

Yami's breath caught up.

He remembered this day. The day when Mokuba finally convinced Seto to get out of their room and try to live a little. While Yami appreciated how much time the young kid spent on him, he began to worry about the small one's health. Thankfully, Mokie managed to bring his brother to the game room, even though he had to take Yami along as well... Seto was worried about someone finding him before they came back. At the time they finally got to the room, most of the cooler games were taken, and there were just some chess boxes laying around. Seto was ecstatic... while Mokie made a face.

It didn't stop him from trying it though. Surprisingly, he ended up enjoying chess _a lot._ Yami watched their game over Seto's shoulder, his small tentacles waving around excitedly as the brothers' game turned out to be a bit more dramatic and intense than expected. Mokuba was frightfully good at chess for his age!

When a voice called out for the orphan bros Yami immediately hided in Seto's shirt. A subtle 'click' has heard and then he came back shyly, trying to figure out what just happened. But Mokie and Seto where too much into the game, and didn't bothered to explain whatever the 'click' was to their dark spirit.

Yami only discovered it several days later, after the photos were distributed on Seto's classroom. The blue eyed boy sneaked it in his bag so the ghost could see it. Yami's glowing eyes widened as he saw the small picture of his aibous smiling cheerfully to him. He leaned against Seto's unused notebooks as he admired what he thought that was a really well done work from his aibou. Of course, it felt different and it _looked_ different from Seto's previous robotic and dragon-like works, but it was _really good,_ so it was certainly made by his aibou.

He was a bit disappointed when he found out that it was just a photo, and _what exactly_ a photo was. But Seto became really good with his drawings anyway, so the spirit still was extremely proud of him.

Inside that small metallic plaque was the exact same photo from the orphanage. He carefully accepted the leather collar from Kaiba's hands, looking longingly to the kids' frozen warm smiles.

Surprisingly, they were still enough to make something inside him melt.

But... how? He thought that this photo was... cut in half many years ago...

 _"Nii-sama? Were are we going?"_

 _Seto arranged some blankets and pillows on Yami's back before looking at his hesitant little brother. The ghost wrapped everything tightly with his tentacles, making sure that everything was safe and in place before blinking at Mokie as well._

 _"I just want to get out of there, just for one night. We'll come back in the morning, but... I can't stand this place... I can't stand these people anymore."_

 _The blue eyed kid got into several fights during the last weeks. Most of them were over games. Yami sympathized with his aibou, these children simply didn't know what they were talking about. Games are so important, in so many levels._

 _"Oh..." Mokuba muttered, moving foot to foot shyly. He never liked to go out without his parents before, especially at night._

 _"C'mon Mokie." Seto ruffled the small kid's hair, smiling calmly to him. "Yami's here. Do you really think that anyone will try to get near us with him there?"_

 _Mokie giggled in agreement. "Yeah." He said, calming a little._

 _Seto jumped on Yami's back and handed out his hand to his little bro to get up as well. The ghost stumbled slightly under their weight before finding an equilibrium point and shaking his head excitedly to the idea of getting away from this place an seeing the world. He could feel something inside him pond excitedly with the perspective._

 _When both bros were confortably set, the dark spirit ran through the orphanage's tiny patio before jumping over the fence and dashing through the silent, dusty street._

 _The orphanage was set in the very end of Domino City. A fairly rural place, with some small markets there and there, one clinic and a tool store a bit further. It wasn't interesting at all, and Seto didn't know what came over him to make him want to get out off bed so late at night. The streets were desert, dark and cold. Yami's claws clicked against the dust filled ground as the ghost ran and jumped excitedly through the night, sniffing the cool wind and shivering with delight. Seto and Mokie giggled as they were swing from side to side thanks to the spirit's excitement. The older kid's blue eyes widened when he realized that Yami never had left their room before._

 _Patting the ghost's neck to gain his attention, Seto leaned closer to his ear and whispered:_

 _"There's no need to worry about us, you can just hold me and Mokie in place. Have fun."_

 _Needless to say that the jumping and running around intensified_ _ **a lot**_ _after those words._

 _The huge, white moon gleamed over them as Seto and Mokie tried to find constellations among the insane amount of stars and Yami's insatiable jumps. That was one of the pluses of living in the rural part... the night sky was_ _ **beautiful.**_ _Panting, their ghost looked up with them, his yellow breath slowly disappearing in the darkness. Yami was finally tired from his small exploration and slowed down his pace to look out for the bears the little brothers were talking about._

 _Seto laid on Yami's back, sighing as the ghost's relaxing movements and the fresh night air rocked him into sleep. The stars shone over him as he slowly closed his eyes..._

 _Mokuba noticed that his brother had fallen sleep and carefully stepped over him to get closer to Yami's neck. They've been walking through this dirt road for almost an hour. It would be awfully dark if Yami's eyes weren't so shiny... they illuminated the path ahead them pretty nicely. Mokie wondered how long Yami would stay awake, and how far he would go while they sleept. Would them be able to get back to the orphanage before someone noticed that they're missing?_

 _His worries started to blur inside his mind as he followed his big bro's example and fell asleep on Yami's back._

 _It probably was some hours later that they were shaken awaken by their pet ghost. Yami was looking curiously at them and at something else more ahead. Following his look, Mokie gasped when he saw a kneaded box in the middle of the asphalt street..._

 _...asphalt? Yami must have wandered A LOT since they fell asleep!_

 _The box's contents were spilled all over the street. The little boy's curiosity made him shake his brother awake before practically dragging the sleepy boy to the torn object. Yami followed them silently._

 _Turns out that the box was filled with cards and another products based from a card game called "Magic and Wizards". There wereposters, plushies, cups- that obviously shatered after probably falling from a truck or a car or... something. The game wasn't familiar to Seto, so it must be imported merchandise. What a shame, for the person who ordered these things that is._

 _A shiny thing caught the blue-eyed boy's attention. Crouching down, he grabbed a small, metallic thing that looked a lot like the cards scattered all over the street. After poking and analyzing it, the kid found out that it was actually a locket. A customized locket apparently._

 _Cool!_

 _With a big smile on his face, the orphan scoured the box some more until he found another one. As much as he kept looking for more, he just found two. With a small 'aww' he gave up and shoved the two lockets in his pocket. Mokie was drooling over the plushies, particularly over a white one. Yami was sniffing some cards. Seto wanted to join them and get as many things as he could but the sky was already getting brighter... they had to go back as fast as they could, and there's no way that they'd be able to hide so many things, even though Yami was probably strong enough to easily carry them and the box back to the orphanage._

 _"C'mon you two. Just choose two things and let's go."_

 _Mokie openly showed his deception while grabbing the white, dragon-thing plushie and a deck of cards. Yami turned his head to the side and grabbed a purple plushie along with two cards. Seto raised an eyebrow at him before picking two decks and signalizing Yami to lie down._

 _They barely got into their rooms before the staff began to wake up their roommates. Yami was able to run surprisingly fast! That left Seto wondering if he was able to fly... that'd be awesome! But wishful thinking aside, he and Mokie decided to fill the lockets with the photo that they got on the another day... not that they had any other anyway. Carefully ripping it apart, they filled the lockets and cherfully teased each other about 'how silly they looked with these goofy smiles on their faces.'_

 _The sound of Yami laying over the bunker's upper bed made Seto realize that there was still one important person that needed to be remembered. The kid felt a strong feeling of guilt pressing his chest, but he honestly didn't have anything like these lockets to give Yami and include him on this. Looking up to the spirit, he noticed that Yami had calmly curled up on the bed and was facing away from them._

 _Seto silently sat on the bed and looked away, biting his lips as his little brother made a confused sound to Seto's sudden withdrawal._

"We thought that you may like to have one of these as well."

 **"A-Aibou..."** Yami's voice was faltering. **"A-A-Aibou..."**

Kaiba made a sound shamefully similar to a shriek when his ghost glomped him with maximum strenght. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around the black being's back and hold him closer. A fond smile grew on his face.

Yami was definitely his. And he was definitely where he belonged.

 **No one** was taking Yami away from him. Tightening his embrace around the spirit at the point of making him whimper, he wrapped the expensive collar around his neck, leaned closer to the ghost's ear and whispered the purest form of truth...

 _"Mine."_

 **I NEED this collar, ok? xD. Seto was pretty tamed in this chapter, but don't expect him to act like that for too long, hahaha.**

 **Again, a HUGE thanks for the support, I love you all! If you found any mistake or a phrase wasn't completely understandable to you, please tell me so I can fix it! (Also, if you liked the fic, comment, please. It REALLY inspires me to make more! :D. )**


	12. I just wanted to protect you

**I am. SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY. I SWEAR I TRIED TO BRING THIS UP SOONER! But sadly, I won't be updating as much as I did before since I started to work as well as going to school, so my time is running short x.x . So sorry guys, but I promise that this story won't be abandoned, and** _ **will**_ **be completed. I'm sure of that! (So sorry for the delay, please take this huge chapter as an apology. I'll try to bring the next up as soon as I can!)**

 _ **murtagh1**_ **, Yes, that's right! ;). Huahaha, I'd like to have a party like that one too! xD. Seto really thought about it before acting! :D. Yes, poor Yami, but Seto is... kind of a closed person. He won't open up so easily ;w;. Hueheheheh, it** _ **needs**_ **to be a collar because reasons ;). Also, I love the thought of** _ **claiming**_ **a lot too! Yami is getting there, and so is Seto... this chapter lets a bit of his stress and trauma finally show up...**

 _ **Howl3,**_ **Hey you! :D :D. YES, Seto had a great idea with that collar didn't he? xD. I'm glad that you liked the flashback! :D. (Well, Yugi was the original owner of the Puzzle ^^;. heheheh.) Don't worry, don't worry at all! I've been so busy that I couldn't even update properly, and I'm so so happy that you stuck with me for so long! xD. (Get better soon! :D)**

 _ **McNuggets (omg that name is priceless! xD),**_ **I'm so happy that you like it! :D :D. I'm trying to make Yami look cute, haha. I hope you enjoy this new chap as well! (The Prideship starts to get strong there!)**

 _ **I acknowledge awesomeness,**_ **Hello there! :D. I'm so honored to be your first Pride!author! There's so many better people out there, you should take a look at other work pieces as well because Pride has some** _ **very**_ **good and entertaining fics! :D. I'm so glad that you enjoyed mine though! (Yami has a connection with Yugi, Mokuba and Seto, in different levels. Basically, everyone who was able to put a piece of the Puzzle together has some sort of connection with him ;). You'll see!).**

 _ **sandyapples2,**_ **Another new person! :D :D. Thank you so much! Heheheh, everyone is talking about how the Yugi\Yami bond was surprising, but it's necessary for the fic's plot! ;). Yes. Seto has no choice, but that doesn't mean that he won't try to challenge the destiny like he always does! I'm so glad that it intrigued you, you can see a little bit of what happens in this chap...**  
 **(Yes, possessive Seto is so good, heheheh!)**

 _ **WARNINGS:**_ **Possessive! Seto. Horny! Seto. Lime. (No smex yet, sorry! ;w;). Also bulling, violence, penalty games, canonical self-hatred on Yugi's part and more, so be careful!**

* * *

The silk beneath him was downy and comfortable, but didn't outweigh how much being in this place was _boring._

Even though the Kaiba Mansion's safe box was HUGE, it simply wasn't very interesting. The tall, steel walls were littered with shelves that were littered with smaller safe boxes. Each of these boxes contained thousands and _thousands_ of different kinds of currencies. Dollars, Yens, Libras... even pure gold and rare stones were included. It was a _gigantic_ gray place, and went as far as as Yami could see. An almost infinite metallic corridor, under lock and key to protect anything that Seto considered valuable.

Apparently, now that included him as well.

Sighing, the spirit arranged the blankets under him and tried to get back to sleep. He wasn't successful, and found his mind drifting away to the events that occurred in the last day instead.

His birthday party was simply... amazing. He knew that Kaiba had the desire to make it for him since a long time ago, but they didn't had the resources to make a party at the time. When they went to Gozaburo's mansion, the boys were too afraid of getting too much out of the line, so it was impossible that time as well. But now... Seto was able to do it. Surprisingly, the CEO apologized to him various times for "not making it big enough" or "not making it perfect enough" for him, even though that was one of the best nights in the ghost's live. Yami didn't understand Seto's line of thoughts. His aibou was getting way too deep in this ostentatious and expensive world, maybe it was time to take him away from it again, even if just for one day.

It seems to be a good idea. But...

Yami looked around and sighed when again, he saw no signs of an exit. Seto locked him into the safe box after seeing him trying to sneak the Puzzle into the CEO's schoolbag. The place was huge and protected with several technological mechanisms of defense, including lasers and trapdoors and all of these things. These weren't Yami's biggest problems though... the maze he had to cross to get to the mansion was. He couldn't remember things to save his live, and Kaiba was taking advantage of it.

Why was his aibou being so cruel?

Yami's only reason to exist was protect and take care of the two brothers. His safety wasn't important when put side to side to _their_ safety. There weren't even many dangers that could actually hurt him, so he honestly didn't know what his aibou was thinking. At least Seto bothered into leaving him comfortable and feed...

A loud metallic sound echoed through the enormous place, immediately making Yami's body go stiff and spiky in alarm.

"Yami?" A voice spoke, almost shyly.

 **"Mokie?"** The ghost muttered in surprise, rearing up to look for the small kid. He found the eleven years old approaching him with a tray of some short.

"I brought you food!" Mokuba said proudly to the spirit, bringing a closed hand to his own chest before smiling happily. Yami giggled as his tentacles began to poke the dishes and bring the most interesting ones to his mouth. He munched the expensive food gloomily, thinking about his other aibou and worrying about what could happen with him alone and scared in this vast, dangerous world...

...well, Kaiba certainly wouldn't be scared but still...

"What's wrong?"

Yami almost jumped at the sound of Mokie's voice.

 **"I... I... "**

"You're eating a plate."

The spirit immediately dropped the half-eaten dish, staring wide eyed at it when it shattered on the floor.

 **"Oh... I'm... I'm sorry..."**

"Something is clearly wrong Yami, talk to me."

The ghost shyly looked away before muttering: **"I wanted to go with Seto... I... I need to be by his side."**

Mokuba immediately felt conflicted, and it showed up on his face. His brother had actually told him to keep out an eye for Yami and don't let him leave the safe box, but... Yami looked so sad here. And the place wasn't interesting at all as well. Keeping the spirit locked here was just mean. Maybe he could let Yami out, but keep him inside the mansion...? It has been a long time since they've played together too, why not take this opportunity before Yami is following every single of Seto's steps again?

The idea was too tempting to let pass.

"Well, you can go out with me, but you have to _promise_ that you won't get out of the mansion."

 **"Deal!"** The ghost seemed a bit too happy with the perspective of getting out of there. As he and Mokie shook hands, the spirit crossed two fingers behind his back... a trick Seto taught him a long time ago. A promise loses it's worth when one does that. Yami wasn't used to do this, he never had a reason to and it was simply... wrong. But this was the only way he could be free to take care of Seto and NOT feel bad about breaking any promises at the same time!

Escaping the mansion was shamefully easy. Everything that Yami had to do was play with Mokie and tire him out enough to pass out, then carry him to his bedroom and tuck him in bed.

As he watched over the pile of black fluff to make sure the boy was actually sleeping, the ghost couldn't help but feel guilty after seeing how excited Mokuba actually was about spending time with him. Of course, Seto was important and needed his attention the most, but... Mokie was also there. Both he and his big brother weren't giving the kid all the attention he needs and deserves.

But he couldn't stay brooding here forever. After getting Seto back safe and sound he could plan an entire day to spend with Mokuba and make up for all of the lost time.

For now, Seto was still his priority.

* * *

Domino High has always been a stupid and pointless idea.

Seto was starting to see Yami's point now. He lost track of how many bullies tried to (unsuccessfully) maul him just on his way to the class. Unsurprisingly, he was a main target since 'new guy' and 'rich'. They never stood a chance. His size, his vast knowledge on martial arts and his higher IQ gave him an almost _unfair_ advantage. Also, most of these guys were morons.

To be more accurate, all of them but one.

Ushio used his position as the 'Demon of Morals' and his physical strength to steal money away from the weaker students. Kaiba _almost_ sympathized with that desire. But the man's methods were... unnecessary. It'll only end up with everyone's hate against him boiling to the surface and every student on school teaming up to overthrow his power and give him the lesson he deserves. That's was the main reason for Seto to avoid... violent methods of convincing. They were fast and efficient, but the worst strategy for the long run. It's better to be as subtle as possible and carefully trick them into trusting him, slowly wrapping them around his fingers.

The CEO strongly hoped that he wouldn't be forced to fight against Ushio without Yami by his side. He did have various bodyguards around but he just didn't trust them enough, and the (noticeably ugly) man was uncomfortably close to him height wise, and way heavier. Seto was sure that his skills were more than sufficient to knock him out but he wouldn't leave a fight like this one without some bruises and he'd rather not smudge his white suit, thank you.

Other than small frys bothering him most of the day, it wasn't entirely bad. The knowledge that Yami was safe in the mansion soothed him down a bit. At least he wouldn't worry about Yugi doing anything funny trying to get the real Puzzle back.

Speaking of him.

Yugi looked pretty down the entire day, but he seemed particularly sad now. Maybe it was the two wanna be bullies making fun of his hair and game addiction, but Kaiba wasn't very sure.

The blonde one was apparently called 'Jounouchi ' . He was particularly annoying for Seto for some reason. The way that he basically wandered around the smaller boy and pushed himself in front of him like a stray mutt craving for attention simply got into the CEO 's nerves. The other one wasn't as bad, but still annoyed him somehow... It must be the hair.

Kaiba was taken away from his thoughts when the teens started to be slightly lousier. Stressed out, the business man looked out of the window and wished with every single piece of his being to be anywhere else.

Hours later, it was finally time for recess. Seto almost sighed in relief. He was finally free to get out of this low class room and read something in peace. "I swear, if someone tries to hit me again, in more ways than one I'm going to bring Yami here and make him bite their heads off. " Kaiba bitterly thought as he tried to glare his way through seas of giggling girls and mad looking boys. He almost regretted leaving Yami home. Almost.

As he walked away from the building, the deafening sound of voices began to low down. Relieved, he grabbed a random book in his backpack and was just about to read when another, weirdly familiar sound reached his ears.

Kaiba's face immediately turned into a frown.

Someone was being beaten up. That wasn't weird in a school like this one but damn he wanted to read. Maybe he should just go to his limo and stay there until the bell rings... the problem is that his vehicle was right on the corner of the school. He'd have to get past these bullies if he wanted to get there.

Sigh. Apparently he doesn't have a choice.

* * *

Yami crawled through Domino High's empty corridors, looking for his aibou. He made sure that he wouldn't be seen, dragging the Puzzle behind him as quietly as he could. The spirit affectionately stroked the collar on his neck, purring softly as he felt the KC marks all around it.

He misses his aibou so badly...

The dark, slimy being slid through a window when he finally realized that no one was inside the building and his aibou was probably out as well. He looked around, a bit blinded by the bright sun but happy to see that there was lots of students around. His aibou was definitely there somewhere!

The ghost practically dashed through the school.

* * *

Yugi cowered against the wall, coughing and then shivering with the pain on his body.

"You better not forget to pay me tomorrow..." The big brute pulled a knife out of his jacket.

"Or I'll be forced to use this..."

He burst out laughing, the haunting sound hurting the smaller boy's ears until the man left.

Yugi swore silently, bringing a hand to his forehead and shaking his head from side to side.

 _"What I'm going to do?! I don't have so much money!"_

The small boy had lost count of how many times things like this had happened. He was almost used to the pain, since letting himself be beaten up was the quickest way to be left alone. That way the guys would get tired of him and go away- but Ushio was persistent, and apparently, not afraid of doing more than breaking some bones.

Yugi bluntly got on his feet, stumbling as he tried to walk away. He needed to get to his class... he couldn't lose another math exam or Miss. Chouno would have his head!

He barely gave two steps before his knees went limp and he crashed on the ground. Pain crawled through his shivering members and he realized that getting up again was impossible. Ugh... looks like he won't get out here so soon. If only Anzu was at school today... he hated having to wait for his grandpa do pick him up, especially when he was like this.

"Why am I worthless like this...?" He sighed with tears in his eyes. The feelings of sadness, fear and loneliness overcame his heart again and the small teen couldn't help but let tears run down his face.

"I hate myself..." The boy muttered as he cowered against the wall, trembling in pain.

* * *

 **'What's this...? What's this feeling...?'** Yami wondered as he stopped on his tracks. Seto's smell was close, but he could feel... something painfully calling for him, and even closer. He had never felt something similar before, and it was making him unsettled and nervous.

How...? Was it Mokie? It couldn't be. He and Mokuba didn't have a bond that was strong enough for telepathic calling, and he saw Mokie sleeping just some minutes ago.

So... who? Should he follow Seto's familiar scent or try to help this mysterious person...?

Who could it be?

Yami's curiosity and the obviously pained waves he was receiving made his mind.

Decided, the dark spirit dashed through the patio, being guided by the weak whimpers reaching his ears.

* * *

He found the kid in no time. It was laid down, crying to itself. Yami bumped his head to the side, confused. He couldn't smell any blood. The kid was obviously hurt though...

Pitying the small thing, Yami crawled closer, sniffing it's body. Yellow eyes blinked in realization. Enveloping the kid in dark, slimy tentacles, the ghost was surprised when he didn't scream. Instead, large purple eyes stared at him in awe, a tiny mouth opening and closing very, very slowly.

"W-Why are you helping me?"

The spirit blinked in surprise to hear that question. What an weird kid! Not 'What are you? ' or 'Get away from me!', no, it was a 'Why are you helping me?' ...!

 **"You're hurt."** He answered innocently. The boy shivered at the sound of his deep voice.

"B-But..." The small teen rubbed his eyes. "W-What are you?"

Oh, here it was.

 **"I'm Seto's."** He stated proudly, lifting his head as far as he could to show his awesome collar to the smaller one. Since he met Seto and Mokie, he spend his free time wondering how he could answer that very same question, and finally, he has a response.

"H-Huh? " The boy blinked, eyes resting on the silver plate on the ghost's neck. Tiny letters under a huge 'KC' symbol caught his attention.

"Yami...? Are you someone's pet or something?"

Growling, the ghost shook his head violently. **"NO!** _ **Not**_ **a pet! "** He shrieked as dark tentacles snapped against the ground.

"A-Alright! I don't even know why I'm asking anyway. That beating up must have messed up my head again and I'm seeing things. Still... thank you... for not letting me here." The kid muttered shyly, looking away from the interested yellow eyes.

 **"What's our name?"** Yami inquired as he bumped his head to the side again.

The boy stopped suddenly. He wasn't expecting that at all...

"It's Yugi. Nice to meet you, Yami."

 **"Nice to meet you too!"** The spirit replied happily. A new friend!

The kid couldn't help but giggle at the other's excitement. That shadow-thing was pretty cute for an hallucination. His body immediately protested against his laughs and a weak whimper was forced out of his throat.

Yami's eyes immediately gained a dark tone.

 **"Who did this to you?"**

"W-Well... It was Ushio. There was nothing I could do, really. "

 **"I'll take care of him for you."** Yami immediately promised for the smaller one, a familiar feeling of protectiveness taking over his chest. A fiery yellow eye appeared on his forehead as his power began to shine...

Then he felt his soul burning inside his body as something pulled it closer to the wide eyed kid in front of him. Yami was barely able to let out a weak cry before everything went black.

* * *

Seto sluggishly walked past the dark corridor where certainly some weak kid was being beaten up. It wasn't his business, at least not until a horrible pain attacked his mind, as if something was being violently teared off him.

What is that?! He never felt anything like this before!

Seto gasped when he saw a blinding yellow light illuminating the dark alley. Blue eyes widened as realization hit him harder than a car crash.

 _"YAMI!"_

 _ **"It's Game Time!"**_

"What the-? You've got the money already? I must be very good at my job."

The small person smiled mischievously, pulling a bunch of money out of his jacket.

"Win against me and I may consider giving you even more than I own you..." He laughed, balancing the chunk of money up and down leisurely.

Seto entered in the dark alley, stopping just in time to see Yugi chopping a bunch of money on his own HAND.

Wait... this isn't Yugi. This sure as _hell_ isn't Yugi.

Blood-red sharp eyes, wild hair with much more golden bangs and that familiar dark presence...

 _Yami...?_

"My h-hand! I can't control it!"

"Too bad. Your greed is taking over. You're not going to win this game. "

"Shut up! If I can't stab the money, I'll stab you!"

"Alright then..." The ex-spirit muttered as an eye began to glow on his forehead.

 _YAMI!_

 _ **"Penalty Game!"**_

"GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Ushio screamed horribly for some seconds until he suddenly stopped and looked around in awe.

"Money...! Money! Money!"

"Hmn. I may have been a bit too soft with this one." The person muttered. Deep red eyes finally wandered across the place and landed on widened sapphire-like eyes.

"S-Seto?" The boy shuddered in surprise.

Kaiba immediately approached the ghost and held both of his shoulders firmly.

"Get out of that midget now! GET OUT! _GET OUT!"_

"S-Seto! S-Stop it! I'm leaving! I'm leaving!" The spirit pleaded as he forced himself out of the smaller one's body, which fell to the floor. The ghost shook his dark form around for a bit to get used to his usual body again. And then he looked up to the young CEO, nervous about what could happen. He shamelessly disobeyed his aibou... and then THAT happened. He had no clue of what he was supposed to answer when Seto asks about what the hell he was doing, since he didn't even know it himself!

Yugi coughed weakly on the ground, slowly regaining conscience. Before Yami could even look at the smaller one, Kaiba grabbed his ghost by the fist and dragged him to his limo, forgetting everything about having to stay on that forsaken place. The spirit yelped as he was violently thrown on the back seat. Scared, he tried to shrink to diminish Seto's anger but to his surprise, his body remained the same. Blinking, he looked to his own hands and realized that they looked... far more 'real' than usual. Almost like... actual hands, and not a see-through, smoke-like fantasy.

He immediately thought about telling Seto but the other refused to look at him, eyes focused on the window as they drove their way home. Yami looked down, embarrassed by his own actions.

When they arrived at the mansion, Kaiba grabbed him by his fist again and dragged him for the closest room. Throwing the spirit inside, he entered and locked the door. Yami backed away slowly, whimpering when the CEO began to crash the closest objects on the floor and walk from side to side with a rage-filled face.

 **"S-Seto... I'm so sorry... I'm-"**

"You're sorry?! You're _sorry?! You'll be sorry after I'm finished with you!"_

The ghost cowered against the wall, looking up to the angered teen.

 **"I-I..."**

"You willingly _disobeyed_ me! I was trying to protect you from the same bastard that you were possessing a few minutes ago! WHY?! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! And more importantly, WHY DID YOU NEVER DO THE SAME WITH ME?!"

 **"S-Seto, I-I swear that I didn't knew I could do that...I-I never..."**

 _"SHUT UP!"_

Yami tried to make himself even smaller again, his tentacles coiling around his body as if it could protect him from the other's rage.

"How could you do that?! I was there, worried sick about you and you go and do _that?_ I... I was... _I just don't want to lose you!"_

 **"S-Seto..."**

 _"I SAID SHUT UP!"_

Yami let out a mortified cry when his partner suddenly dashed to him. Seto pulled him by his hair to make him stand up. The spirit yelled at the sudden violence and tried to back away, but Kaiba's hands hold him firmly in place. Yami swallowed hard and looked at his aibou's hateful blue eyes, shivering in fear. Seto never acted like this before...

"You're _mine_ Yami. _MINE."_

 **"S-Seto...! Y-You're scaring me-"**

Yami's eyes went wide when the CEO pushed his mouth on his. Kaiba's lips felt so soft and warm against his own, and the spirit couldn't help but sightly enjoy it even when Seto was so altered like this.

 _"Mine."_ Seto whispered when their lips separated. "The collar wasn't enough. I guess I'll have to show it to you another way..."

 **"H-Huh?"** Yami muttered before his lips where captured forcefully again. The hand that was firmly grabbing his hair slowly softened it's grip and began to caress him fondly but roughly at the same time.

 _"Mine. Mine, mine, mine, mine..."_

 **"S-Se-Seaaahh...ah..."** The ghost lost the track of his words because of how daring Seto was being. His hands where _everywhere_ on his body- Seto had never touched him like this before. Gripping, caressing, stroking... Yami's mind had turned into a blur by the time the CEO gently pulled his legs apart... fitting his own dressed lower side to the spirit's, Kaiba rubbed their hips together, making both of them moan loudly with the resulting sensation.

Yami could fell a bulge in Seto's pants while he grinded against the ghost's soft, slimy body but the spirit was completely unaware of what was happening. All he knew was that it felt _good_ to be so close to Seto, so _good_ to feel their bond overflowing with passion and pleasure, and _so good_ to have Seto on top of him... he couldn't think straight. The awful feeling of fear became dull and almost disappeared...Seto's scent was everywhere, his caresses, his lips... these bright blue eyes looking at him with despair, anger, passion and fear mixed all mixed inside the colorful orbs... If his body wasn't 'locked up' because of the previous happening, Yami was pretty sure that he would have morphed into a puddle of goo right now.

 _"I'm going to take you."_ Seto whispered against the other's ear. _"I'm going to take you so hard you won't be able to think about anything other than me for the rest of your life."_ He continued to mutter. Yami was barely able to hear a zipper being pulled down when a knock sounded on the door.

 _"Nii-sama? Yami? Are you guys ok?"_

Seto let out an almost animalistic growl. Yami's eyes gained focus again as he answered Mokie's worry with a soft "Yes."

As soon as Mokuba opened the door, Kaiba arranged his clothing and turned his back on the spirit, dashing out of the room and letting an weakened, confused and aroused spirit behind to gather everything about what just happened.

 **Possessive! Seto is dangerous sometimes... take care Yami.**  
 **Yugi actually talked to Yami for the first time, and we see a bit of what happens when the spirit gets too close for too long... hehe. Kaiba isn't amused and won't let it stay that way, trust me!**

 **Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter, even with all the delay and bad grammar and stuff! Thank you so much for all the kinds of support, it makes my day, so much love for all of you! Special thanks to** _ **gracefulmiracle**_ **here, for helping me out with the ending and bringing the chapter sooner (and better!) for everyone! :D.**


	13. Love is Blind

**Oh my God, I took an awfully long time to finish this chapter! So sorry again, but there really was nothing I could do, things are just getting harder and harder and it's being impossible to find time. I think that I'm going to answer you guys privately for now on, so you won't have to wait so much for a response anymore! What do you think?**

 **IMPORTANT-** **I saw a lot of people being confused at how "It" would work between Yami and Kaiba, and while it made me laugh a whole lot I understand that it also means that I must have done something wrong because you guys aren't being able to follow the changes on Yami's body. Yami is able to change his body's form- his first form is monster and animal-like, it has huge, sharp teeth and claws, no legs and it's** _ **gigantic**_ **in size. It's arms are also huge.**

 **After training for several years, he began to change to a human-like form- now he has legs, arms, and a human sized body. The only thing that's not "human" is that he's still completely black like a shadow, and has glowy yellow eyes. After the most recent development, he's having a hard time changing his size, like he's "stuck" in human size...**

 _ **WARNING:**_ **This chapter is** _ **weird.**_ **And I mean** _ **very**_ **weird. It contains a lemon of sorts between a human and a ghost so you guys know it's going to be** _ **very**_ **bizzare. Besides bad language, an attempt at murder, kidnapping, stealing... this chapter is** _ **weird**_ **, I tell you. Had to re-write it various times to turn the weirdness levels down, so beware!**

 **The answers for your lovely comments are at the bottom today! Have fun! owo**

* * *

Yami entered Seto's room, still a bit scared from what happened between him and his aibou the day before. That had felt... good, but Seto seemed so angry... Yami feared how his aibou would react if they saw each other so soon. The fear plaguing the spirit's mind made him sneak inside the CEO's room, trying his best to make no sound at all.

Seto's sharp eyes still noticed him in the dark. The business man called out for him, waving his hand in a gesture for him to get closer.

"Yami." He complimented.

The CEO's voice was deep, serious... and calm. The ghost felt a weight he didn't know he was carrying fall from his shoulders.

"Come here." The brown-haired man continued. The spirit hesitated for a moment before floating to approach the other. He looked to the ground in a shy manner. Seto's deep blue eyes were focused on the piles of paper in front of him. Still, in the moment Yami was into arm-reach the CEO raised his hand and petted the spirit.

Kaiba's hand caressed his soft hair and made him tremble. Fingers massaged the thin skin under the dark, spiky locks of hair. The hand took it's time there before pulling the anxious ghost closer by the collar on his neck. Yami didn't choke this time- Seto was trying to be careful.

Yami shivered when his now solid-like body touched the soft fabric of Seto's clothes. The memories of what happened last night rushed back to his mind in a flash. Kaiba looked at him with curiosity, raising an eyebrow before going back to work. Yami scolded himself for being such a worrywart. Of course his aibou wouldn't put his lips on his again, that must have been a punishment of some sort. He couldn't just say _"I really enjoyed what you did last night Seto, please do it again!"_ without angering his aibou even more.

With that in mind, he stood still. Pretending to completely ignore the way Seto's hand was caressing his hair fondly. It went down to his covered neck and then to his soft back, taking it's sweet time at stroking him.

"How do you feel about me, Yami?" The CEO asked.

Yami blinked at the sudden question before answering...

 **"You're my aibou."** The spirit answered with honesty filling his words, turning his head to the side in confusion.

"That's not what I meant. " Kaiba sighed. "...Did you enjoy what happened last night...? " He tried again.

 **"H-Huh... I..."**

What was he supposed to say?!

The ghost shivered when his aibou's hand touched his chin, holding it and bringing him closer to the other's face.

"Say... did you enjoy this...?"

Seto whispered before his lips caressed Yami's once again. He did it in a slow and calm pace at first but becoming rough and dominant in a hurry.

The spirit shrieked but gave on the other's advances with shameful ease. Raising his own hands as well, he enveloped Seto's neck with his arms. A purr grew in his throat as his aibou began to explore his mouth with care.

Kaiba's tongue was warm and moist against his own. The ghost couldn't help but whimper as Seto tasted him... It felt so good. His aibou slowly enveloped him with his arms... Seto's scent was everywhere again... it was so nice and warm...

 **"S-Seto..."**

"Do you like this...? "

 **"I... I..."** Yami forced out with the last of his breath. **"S-Seto..."**

"Answer me... answer me Yami..."

 **"I ...I do..."**

The CEO got out of his face the second these words left his lips, licking the side of his own mouth with a predatory smile.

"That's what I thought..." He giggled before going back to his papers again.

 **"W-What are you doing? "** The spirit spluttered as he tried to ignore what just happened.

Ice-like blue eyes turned to him. "Nothing important. I'm just taking care of some issues. "

 **"What happened? "**

"Rats. "

 **"Rats...? Like...?"** The ghost insinuated, referring to the various attempts to take over his aibou's company that happened over the years.

"Yes. I'll fix that problem myself this time. "

 **"W-What? "** Yami shuddered with shock. But he was the one who punished the evil doers every time! How'd Seto manage to do that without him?!

 **"But aibou! I'm-"**

"Don't even start, Yami. You're not going with me."

 **"Why are you doing that?!"**

"To protect you. AND to keep you away from that midget. "

 **"But Seto! I was... I was just trying to help..."**

"And you managed to lose my trust instead. You're NOT leaving this house anymore Yami."

 **"But I'M the one supposed to protect you aibou! I-I how can I win your trust b-back...?"** The ghost pleaded in despair, horrified by how his CEO was basically excluding him from his life.

A weird smile filled the young man's face.

"I'll expect you on my bed tonight. "

 **"H-Huh? "** What kind of punishment was that?! Yami surely hoped that it was something like the one he received last night... uhm...

Seto seemed satisfied with the response he got.

"You better be there. " He whispered in a low, intimidating yet sexy tone that made the ghost shiver.

Uncomfortable, Yami floated away, awkwardly waving his goodbyes for his aibou. Kaiba smiled at him one last time before reading the dammed papers once again. His delight-filled blue eyes darkened when he found the picture of the offender's home.

The Kame Game Shop.

* * *

"Let's get this plan working already, shall we."

"K-Kaiba-sama... we don't have enough gallons to burn down the building..."

"We don't need to burn down the building, we just need to kill them. Just spread it around, NOW. "

"Yes, Kaiba-sama!"

* * *

"W-Wow Yugi! That's an hell of a collection! "

"Heh heh..." The smaller one muttered, a light red filling his cheeks. "I said that I lived in a game shop! You shouldn't be surprised! "

"But... wow! There are games and cards I never saw before in my life!" The blonde bubbled with excitement. "Look at this weird thing! IS THAT A HAND?! What are you even selling here man, geez!"

Yugi laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Mostly cards!" He answered. "You should see the rare one my grandpa has been showing off since... well, ever. It's a very respected card between Magic and Wizards fans!"

* * *

"Kaiba-sama, we're done! "

"Lit it up. Let's cut the plague by it's roots"

* * *

Jounouchi's eyes gained a weird gleam. "Most rare card...? That seems interesting! "

"Ohoho, figures you'd be interested." An old man said as he went down through the stairs. "I don't like to show it to anyone but I guess that I'll have to make an exception for you. "

Yugi rolled his eyes at that. Didn't like to show it to anyone? Yeah, right.

Jou seemed excited though, and became even more when Solomon pulled a tiny box from under the table.

"Here it is..." The man whispered as he opened the box. _"The Blue Eyes White Dragon!"_

* * *

"STOP! "

"K-Kaiba-sama? "

Had he heard it right? Shit, who'd think that they have such a valuable card in the middle of all that trash? He can't burn this disgusting place down with THAT card inside!

"DAMMIT!" The CEO yelled as he trowed one of the gasoline gallons all across the place. His goons shivered at the sight.

"I have... I HAVE to get it. I have to! "

"K-Kaiba-sama..."

"WHAT?!"

"Your suitcase is in the limo... we could... get it and offer a trade...?"

The blue eyed teen was panting in rage. He considered feeding Yami with the person who even dared to ask such a question. Seto ignored the man and looked at the game store. Annoyed, he realized that it probably had cameras and he would need to keep, at the very least, a polite image while inside that place.

Swearing under his breath, he ordered someone to get his suitcase for him before entering the game shop.

* * *

"Oh, a costumer!" Yugi exclaimed as he turned around to greet the person with a huge smile. The light in his eyes disappeared almost instantly.

"K-Kaiba-kun...?"

"You know him Yug?"

"Y-Yeah... He's in our class, remember? "

"Oh, yea. He is the one that's always reading isn't he. HEY! Have you ever played Magic and Wizards? We can have a duel! " The blonde exclaimed with a warm light in his eyes.

Already offended by seeing these morons blatantly talk about him while he was still in the room, the CEO couldn't help but let out an annoyed grunt.

"Hmmph. Ask again when you've collected ten thousand cards or more. "

"WHAT!? Who do you think you are?!"

"J-Jounouchi-kun! Calm down! " The smaller teen cried as he tried to keep the blonde in place.

"Let me teach him some respect, Yugi!"

"Huh. Weren't you the one bothering him yesterday? What caused the sudden change of heart?" Kaiba asked without real interest, looking for what he came for in the first place.

"I'll tell you what! Yugi has driven that ass Ushio completely crazy! He's the first person to ever fight against him and now the guy can't even tell money apart from trash! That's real courage, I tell you!"

"J-Jounouchi-kun..."

Kaiba wanted to laugh, and had a hard time trying to keep himself from doing so.

"Alright, are you telling me that this little-"

Blue eyes widened when they finally found the thing he was looking for...

He rushed towards the balcony, slammed his briefcase on the wooden furniture and exclaimed at the old man behind the door:

"Sir! I offer this entire suitcase of rare cards for that Blue Eyes! "

The other two teens gasped in a mix of shock and surprise.

"No. "

The two teens gasped harder in a mix of shock and surprise.

Kaiba made a face at the refusal. The old man knew what he had in hands. Could he do a better proposal maybe...? No. If the man was really that smart, he wouldn't give that dragon up. Seto would have to opt for harsher methods if he truthfully wanted that card for himself.

"Is that so...? ...Alright. " The young CEO replied, his dark blue eyes still glued greedily into the object of his desire.

With an annoyed grunt, he turned around and dashed away.

"That daddy's boy must have never been refused in his entire life, the look on his face was hilarious!"

"Jounouchi-kun!"

"C'mon, Yugi. You can't say that I'm not right."

"W-Well he was kinda rude... but maybe... I don't know..."

"We should go back to our own games, that's what we came here for, hmm?"

* * *

"Yami... Yami, where are you...?" Seto whispered seductively as he wandered across his bedroom.

The place was heavy with darkness, but he could tell that was his ghost was there just from his smell and the freezing cold air littering the room... Yami was feeling nervous. That increased Kaiba's excitement greatly for some reason.

"Yami..." The CEO purred when the tips of his fingers touched a warm and soft mass of darkness on his bed. Uneasy yellow eyes opened slowly, filling the room with a weak, gentle golden light.

 **"A-Aibou..."** The spirit whispered, turning his head slightly to the side **. "H-How can I...?"** He gulped before finishing his phrase.

Yami's body stiffened when soft lips touched the side of his head, some of his dark tentacles instinctively curling around his aibou.

"I want you to lay down... and... stand still..."

 **"A-Aibou..."**

"Shh...hmmm..." The man muttered as he chewed Yami's collarbone gently, kissing the abused skin afterwards. The spirit whimpered, trembling as Seto's warm, moist tongue caressed him, slowly descending across his dark chest.

 **"Aibou... I'm... do you really want to be that close to me?"**

The older teen stopped between kisses. "What do you mean?"

 **"I mean... I'm not human anymore. If you and Mokie are right, I can't even be considered alive. How can you not be disgusted of me? How can you even be able to get that close? I don't... I just don't understand. Everything I want to do is to protect you, aibou."**

"Nothing more?"

 **"I don't... know. I just... I can't understand. I'm hideous. I'm... I don't even know if I'm the same kind of species you are."**

"But I still want you." Seto muttered in a lust-filled whisper.

 **"I... I just don't know, Aibou. I don't know if I should allow you to be so close to me. I... I would do anything to make you happy but... I can't... I can't be sure if this is the right thing to do..."**

"Yami..."

 **"Please just let me finish my training. Please just wait until I can at least look human... I can't be close to you while looking like this."**

"Why do you suddenly think that I care about your looks?"

 **"I... "**

"You're doing an astounding work, Yami..."

 **"I-I am...?"**

"Your chest feels so real and compact, but it's still lovely and soft. I should reward you for such a good work... you're really trying to look human aren't you...?"

 **"I...do try... but... aibou..."**

"Hmmmn..."

 **"G-Gah! W-What are you doing a-aib-"**

"Relax... " The CEO muttered as he examined the space between the other's legs. "It seems that you're still not very good at morphing your lower parts. "

 **"U-uh..? W-Why? I thought that my legs ended up pretty accurate this time... and I really think we should think more about this..."**

"I'm not talking about your legs." Laughed the taller one.

The ghost blinked cutely at the statement.

 **"Seto..."** He muttered, almost pleading to the bigger male.

It was the first time Seto actually noticed... how small Yami was. How small he looked while pressed against these sheets by his own large body, on this large bed. He was... tiny. Nothing like his monster counterpart.

"I don't know where all of that 'I must look human' nonsense is coming from, but think you're missing an important organ. "

 **"I-I am? "**

"Yes... let me show you..." The blue eyed man purred as he pulled his zipper down, making the spirit tremble when the sound brought back the happenings of the last night.

A warm feeling filled Yami's crotch as the ghost gulped anxiously. He didn't realize he was looking away from his partner until Seto grabbed his chin in a gentle grasp and turned him back to the right place.

Yellow eyes widened.

 **"W-What is THAT!?"**

The CEO couldn't help but laugh loudly at the other's innocence.

"Something that can make both of us feel real good..." The taller one answered with a lustful gleam in his eyes. "That is, if you're willing to make one for yourself so I can pleasure you."

 **"C-Can't I just... stay the way I am? I don't like the looks of that thing..."**

"You won't feel anything if you do that. Besides, I thought you wanted to look more human...?"

 **"A-As long as you enjoy it aibou, I couldn't care less."** The ghost sighed. **"I'm just... I don't know why you're acting like this around me. I'm not a female, you should be drooling over some actress like the boys from TV... I can't be sure if you're ill or not, but I'm sure this isn't normal."**

"Well then..." Purred the bigger male as he began to grind against his partner's slimy, soft body. He ignored everything after Yami's first phrase. "Hmmmn...hn..."

 **"I- I mean... if you want a relationship and a marriage and babies... I don't think I can produce babies aibou..."**

 _"Shhh..."_

 **"I'm pretty sure that's an alive-woman-exclusive thing. But I never saw you looking at magazines with beautiful woman in them. You don't like women aibou? Do you like people? I never thought you were fond of people. Maybe that's why you're acting like this around me."**

"No. I like you because you're beautiful, loyal and strong. Now _please_ shut up."

Yami gasped as he felt the bond between him and Seto throb with a warm feeling of pleasure. W-What was that? ! He could feel Seto rubbing against him but he could also feel the pleasant friction his aibou was feeling- he never knew that was possible!

 **"S-Set...aaahhh ..."**

"It feels amazing, doesn't it..?" Moaned the taller one in a low tone as he noticed that, even without a organ of his own, Yami could still gain pleasure out of his own feelings.

He smiled and intensified his impulses, caressing as much as he could from the warm, trembling ghost underneath him.

"I-I'm so close..."

The spirit tried to hold on to something as his aibou pumped his lower half with something similar to rage, so hard that Yami could almost feel his skin being teared away.

 **"A-Aibou...a-aibou...! Gah... ah...hmm...I... I w-what is this..."**

"Pleasure..." Kaiba purred. The teen's pale body shivered when his ghost's cold tentacles enveloped as much of him as they could, Yami's fingers digging into his sides fiercefully as he also tried to hold Seto in place with his own legs, trapping the business man with them.

Kaiba seemed to enjoy being held since his trusts became even stronger and faster- until he slowly stopped as something warm filled Yami's crotch and chest.

The ghost couldn't help but yelp and slide out of Seto's grip, shaking his dark body to try to get the warm, sticky fluids out of him.

Kaiba began to laugh again as he brought a hand to his forehead and shook his head from side to side.

"It's not venom, Yami, calm down. " He tried between laughter.

 **"What is this ?! Why did you spit on me, aibou?! We were having such a good time! ! "**

The CEO began to laugh so hard he fell on the sheets, tears wounding up in his eyes.

 **"Aibou!"** Yami roared, offended. He still was trying to clean that white goo out of his chest and frustrating himself as the thing mixed itself more and more with his own gooey body **. "AIBOU!"**

"Alright, alright, calm down. I'll help you with that. " The teen giggled a last time before reaching for his ghost and rubbing the other's chest. Yami almost cringed when it only made the fluids mix even more with his body - until they where barely visible. He gulped.

"See? It's all clean."

 **"I-I want a bath... I NEED a bath."**

"I'm going to bath with you..." Purred the taller one.

 **"I-I don't think that's a good idea..."** The spirit tried to say before his mouth was caught in a powerful kiss.

He moaned weakly before yelping when his aibou raised him from the bed and walked to the bathroom with him on his arms bride-style.

Even when confused and sightly scared by what happened, the ghost couldn't help but nuzzle his partner and purr happily at the warm feelings of affection Seto was sending to him. The spirit coiled around the CEO and let him take him to a shared bath.

* * *

"Did you bring it, Yugi?" Seto asked with a huge amount of curiosity.

"Y-Yeah, I did..."

"What are you two talking about?"

Jou immediately intervened, looking at Kaiba with the side of his eyes.

He protectively stood by the smaller boy's side, glaring at the CEO with burning distrust.

"Calm down, Jounouchi-kun... Kaiba-kun just wanted to see the Blue-Eyes again, he asked me to bring it..."

"I _don't trust_ him, Yugi..."

"If he wants to talk to me, that's his decision, not yours."

"KAIBA! You-"

"It's alright, Jou-kun. He'll just borrow it for some minutes..."

"How come you trust that guy, Yugi?!"

"I-I..."

"Can I take the card now?"

"Just... be careful..."

The blue eyed CEO almost moaned when the precious card touched the tip of his fingers. He had been looking for this one for so long...

Carefully, he reached to his pocket and pulled a fake Blue Eyes from it. It was an identical copy, there was no way this wimp would be able to tell these apart.

The CEO switched the cards as fast as he could when the other two teens looked away from him.

Seto stared at the fake dragon in "awe" for some moments to keep the appearances before handing it back to Yugi with a cheerful smile.

"Thank you!" The taller teen simply said before going back to his own desk. He was barely able to keep a sadistic smile from showing up on his face.

Yugi looked at the card on his hands with a slight frown on his face before looking at Kaiba with pain and sadness in his purple eyes. Still, he didn't do anything until the bell went off and the students started leaving their chairs.

He gasped when Kaiba simply got up and left, having no choice but to run to catch up on him.

Seto noticed it, and started to walk faster so he could get to his limo sooner.

Yugi's eyes where wide by the time he finally reached the CEO, who had slowed down his pace.

"Please! Please give it back Kaiba-kun!"

"What are you talking about?" The business man grunted defensively. "I didn't take anything from you." He blatantly lied in several ways.

"The Blue Eyes, Kaiba-kun! You switched it for a fake card! I-I thought you were going to give it back after school so I didn't say anything but... please give it back!"

"What?! Stop spluttering this nonsense!" Kaiba's voice raised in aggressiveness and volume.

"I know, Kaiba-bun! The card you gave me... it doesn't contain my grandpa's heart! It's very important to him, please give it back!" Yugi cried as he grabbed Kaiba's white suit with both hands.

The CEO cringed.

"DON'T TOUCH ME WITH THESE DIRTY HANDS!"

 _"GAAHH!"_

Yugi stumbled to get up to his feet after Seto's iron suitcase was shook to hit his face... hard.

"K-Kaiba-kun..." He muttered in confusion.

"Don't you dare to touch me ever again!" Seto threatened.

Steps sounded loudly around them- his bodyguards must have heard his angered screams and decided to finally approach to help him out.

These incompetents! He could've died long ago if this wimp was actually a threat!

"Get him." The CEO growled in a dark tone.

Yugi's eyes widened a bit more before five guards trapped him in place. Kaiba muttered something as he wondered if it'd be a good idea to finish the wimp right there, right now.

"No." He decided, looking around. "I have to take him somewhere else first."

Yami flashed through his mind and the mansion was scrapped immediately. The CEO took a hand to his forehead as he tried to think about other place, ANY other place.

Blue eyes filled with sadistic excitement as a perfect location came to mind.

* * *

"Yamiiii, you said that you weren't going to use that! "

 **"Hnmn... sorry, small aibou. It's how I play-"**

"ANY game, I get it. But you could chill a little, couldn't you? Lighten up and... avoid looking like you want to murder me, okay? "

 **"Okay..."** The spirit babbled as he rubbed his fingers on the small chess pieces. They felt cold and solid under his soft skin. A glimpse of stone cold blue eyes made a warm purr rise from his throat. The ghost caressed the king, melancholic, missing the older of his aibous.

A sharp pain blossomed on the back of his mind- Yami gasped at the sudden feeling and got up in an attempt to float away from the chessboard. Mokuba looked at him with surprise before dashing closer when the ghost fell to the floor, holding his head in a tight grip.

"Yami! What's wrong?!" He cried.

 **"My head... it burns..."** The ghost whispered weakly, his fingers digging deeper and deeper on his hair at every second.

Horror filled the small child's mind as he tried to think of something, anything to help the spirit out.

 _"What's that, Nii-sama?"_

 _"It's just a medicine. I haven't sleep well for quite a while."_

 _"It's for headaches?"_

 _"Yeah. It's strong enough to take care of them... I may buy the company that sells these once I'm sure they're selling well enough."_

Grey eyes narrowed with determination. Mokuba ran towards his brother's office, announcing his leave to the pained spirit before closing the door behind him:

"I'll be right back, hang on Yami!"

A pain-filled gasp was the boy's only response.

Yami wasn't actually listening- he never felt anything like that. Not even when his stomach was wide open thanks to that ghost-killer guy. What was happening to him? Why his feelings were all over the place since he met that Yugi kid?

In a horrifying moment, he realized that Seto might be in danger and tried to contact him through their link with all his remaining strength.

The CEO was... fine, apparently. More than fine. Cheerful. Yami could feel the other's mind wrapping around him in a warm, happy embrace that just felt so... wrong, for some reason.

Even so, the rare act of affection made the ghost purr in relief, pressing his mind against Seto's just to make sure that he was actually there.

He could fell Kaiba's smug smile from miles away and giggled at the weird way his aibou was acting. What made him so content with himself? Yami never was one to avoid being clingy, he loved to be warm and since he wasn't able to produce heat by himself... Seto was probably tired of being wrapped in a hug by now.

Well, he wasn't going to complain, by any means.

"Here, take this!"

Yami choked when a white tablet was shoved down his throat. He barely had time to shallow it before Mokie offered a glass of water, which he accepted with a thankful huff.

"You should rest for a while. I'll see if that new Capsule is already on the store... tell Seto I went to do a school project on a friend's house, okay?"

Yami gave him a reproved look before humoring him and floating to the couch.

Glad with the response, Mokie left the room, carefully closing the door behind him. "Maybe you should find Nii-sama when you get better! He should have returned by now... distract him for a bit for me, okay? Please?"

Yami hummed a response, he was planning to find Seto soon anyway.

* * *

 **I hope I didn't creep too many people out, hahaha. Do you guys think that they should start their relationship now or after Yami is actually just a see-through person and not a chunk of darkness in the shape of a person? Anyways, thank you all so much for the comments and faves and follows, I'm so sorry for not updating regularly like I used to. I hope you guys are still liking the fic, please tell me how can I can get better at this!**

 _ **Wolf'sVine,**_ **Hey you! :D. Hopefully I didn't scare you out yet! I'm very happy that you loved my fic so much, I hope you're still going to like what comes next! And, oh, you're absolutely right! Yugi does need Yami at this stage of his development, he needs Yami to gain his courage and will, besides him being the original holder of the Puzzle! Ahh, you're asking questions that will be answered later in the fic! ;). Yami loves Seto and Mokie too much... say, do you think that Yami would leave Yugi in canon to stay with Seto? Wonder about that for a bit! Ha, I wonder what will happen between Yugi and Seto. Is still too soon to say, but for now Seto is angered that someone may take Yami away from him, and Yugi is hurt because he thinks that Seto is the one that took his Puzzle away from him. I intent to giving Yami his canon form, yes! But that depends mostly on you guys, because for me it doesn't make much of a difference! ^^. Don't worry about long reviews! I absolutely** _ **adore**_ **them! The longer the merrier! :D**

 _ **McNuggets,**_ **HAHAHAHAH, oh my, I love your comments! But yes, that was exactly Kaiba's plan x'D. And he got it done in this chap, hahah. I'm glad you liked the interaction between Yugi and Yami! :D. I'm also not a Puzzleshipper, but their relation is a big Brotp of mine!**

 _ **murtagh1,**_ **I'm sorry for taking so long! xD. HUA, everyone is talking about this! I wonder if I made it clear! ^^;. Well. Yami doesn't even have genitals, let alone pants. He has no idea of what's going on, absolutely none. (ALSO CAN YOU PLEASE STOP READING MY MIND! I'm not commenting on this, you'll find out yourself! xD) Hah, Mokie is fine, he has seen worse from those two xwx. (Omg, you'll probably hate him on this chap then! Poor Yugi indeed, but I'm trying to keep everyone and everything as canon as possible! Which means Seto is going to be mean, possessive and destructive while Yugi is the sweetest pervert you'll ever meet. Hahahah, I know ;). This is Season Zero Seto, I'm keeping him that way! HAH, Yami absolutely** _ **adores**_ **his collar! (Omg, that comparison, I love it x''D.) I'm glad I'm passing the right feelings then! :D (That's mine to decide and yours to find out, MUAHAHAHAHAHA *cough* *cough*)**

 _ **Howl3,**_ **I'm so sorry for you! :(. Hopefully these (two months! Omg!) were enough to make you feel better! Don't worry about me, I wish I could have posted more in the meantime! I'm glad you liked Yami, Yugi and the Penalty Games! :D. Seto is indeed changing quite a bit. Yugi's come back made quite a number on him, and he's stressed and enraged. I'm glad I didn't go too far then! ^^. I hope this chapter didn't weird you out too! (Yes though, Yami does have a crotch! xD. He just doesn't exactly has... any sort of genitals, because he didn't know about them at the time. HAHAHAHA, I'm glad I got such reactions though! No, it doesn't work the same, because Yami doesn't know how a body does actually work! xD. He just knows how to shape himself as a human, but he knows nothing regarding to the "details"! ^^; . I'm sorry I made you wait so much! xwx. Hopefully this chapter is worth of some amusement too!**

 **See you guys next update!**


	14. Losing means Death

_**Warnings:**_ **Angst, major character death, violence, language and Kaiba planning murders, so take care. This one isn't as bad as the last one sexually though ;). I think Seto and Yami will take a bit more of time to get so close again.**

 **Again, SORRY FOR THE WAIT! I'm glad I didn't take AS long, but it was still a shamefully long time... I hope you guys enjoy this chapter here anyway.**

Yugi's breath came in sharp, forced huffs. There was something silky on his head, blinding him from the outside world. The teen's head was throbbing with an intense pain, and he couldn't remember anything after his encounter with Kaiba today...

 _Kaiba!_

Yugi tried to get up, only to discover that his entire body was tied to a chair, ropes pressing him so tightly it hurt. Fear teared into his mind like a sharp knife. It got stronger when he tried to call out for help and only muffled sounds came out of his covered mouth.

The fabric covering his head was pulled out of him in a quick swipe, making the boy gasp. The brightness that invaded his eyes made him cower against his chair, eyes burning with pain. Tears blocked his already blurred vision, but having the ability to see helped the boy to calm down- if only for a little.

"Familiar place, isn't it?"

That voice was also familiar. Looking up, Yugi could make out a brown-haired man wearing a long red coat. That of course in the middle of the mess that was his current vision. He knew it was Kaiba doing all this, but being actually sure about it was painful to the smaller male. Why? What did he do to deserve this?

"I-I guess you aren't going to give my card back..." Yugi couldn't help but mutter.

"Don't you recognize this place, _Yugi?"_ Kaiba ignored the teen's words completely, an angered tone in his voice. He wanted an _immediate_ reaction.

Yugi gulped and looked around, eyes widening when indeed, he did recognize the place.

It was the orphanage.

"W-Why did you bring me here?" The purple eyed boy questioned, nervous about the whole situation. He also wanted to ask why he was tied up, but too scared to do so.

"It's only fair to end things were they began."

"W-What?!" The young man asked, eyes widening. "W-What that's supposed to mean?"

Kaiba took a gun out of the inside of his coat.

Yugi's breath caught in his chest.

Seto took his time polishing the weapon, giving it a soft smile before loading the revolver. He pointed it to Yugi's head, a soft click filling the silent space.

"The game, Yugi. We're going to finish our little game..."

Yami floated way above town, yellow eyes feeding on the beautiful sunset. The way it's light reflected on the tall buildings... it was breathtaking. He was feeling way better now, the pounding on his head became nothing but a bother. Maybe the tablets Mokie gave him actually helped? He had to thank Mokuba when they encountered each other again.

The ghost was following the possessive messages he received from Seto's side of the bond. Some things Seto said were making him fell all warm and fuzzy, the memories of what they had done together still fresh in his mind. The spirit couldn't help but let out a bright smile at the thought of surprising the CEO with his presence.

He was close now. Surprisingly, he recognized the place. It was a very weird feeling for someone who usually forgot most things in a very short period of time.

Yami felt a cold shiver go down his spine when a very familiar building came to his sight.

 _"Our game of life or death with the Millennium Puzzle as the ultimate prize..."_

The orphanage.

What was Seto doing here? Why this place? Was he ok? These and other questions flooded Yami's mind as he dashed to the old building.

" _I win_ , Yugi."

The small teen was frozen solid on his chair. Kaiba couldn't be serious, could he? What was this all about?

"K-Kaiba-kun! Why are you doing this?"

Seto pressed the gun against Yugi's forehead, making him gulp. There was a crazed look on the man's blue eyes.

 _"You were trying to steal him from me..."_

The tied teen's eyes couldn't get any wider.

"S-Steal?! Who?!" He pleaded, trying to get away from the gun's reach.

 **"Seto?"**

The CEO jumped at the soft voice. He turned around to see confused yellow eyes looking at the scene before them with growing fear.

"Yami..." The taller teen muttered, unconsciously pushing his gun harder on Yugi's head. The smaller male groaned in pain.

 **"W-What's happening here? What are you doing?"**

Kaiba's breath became harsh. He was planning to end the problem in a clean and quick manner- as usual. But he wasn't expecting Yami to come to him. He wanted to erase Yugi's existence completely, but Yami would be hurt if he killed the plague, he was sure of that.

His finger started to tremble. He wanted to pull the trigger. He really wanted to pull that trigger. Crazed blue eyes widened when he realized just how close he was from having Yami all for himself. He just needed to shot the gun. That was all he needed to do.

The ghost watched the scene with big, worried eyes.

He crawled closer, planning to slowly snatch the gun away from his aibou when he saw the madness inside of the usually gentle blue eyes. Yami instantly knew that Kaiba wasn't going to back down. Worrying about his Puzzle, Yami sat the golden archifact on an old desk near the exit before floating to the two males.

The spirit got between Seto and Yugi, gulping when the icey eyes focused on him instead.

 **"S-Seto, put that thing down, please..."**

"Get out of the way, Yami." The CEO growled, stressed about this entire thing.

 **"N...No."** The ghost muttered.

That was the first time Yami had ever denied him.

 _"What did you say?"_ Seto's voice was poisonous.

Dark tentacles swirled behind the spirit's back as he struggled to appear as big as possible.

 **"No..."** Yami said, still silently, but now in a clear and audible tone. His tentacles curled around Yugi in an attempt to protect him. The ghost swallowed hard.

Seto seemed to be in denial, widened blue eyes flashing from Yugi's terrified face to Yami's trembling form.

 _"Are you betraying me?! And with that runt?!"_

 **"I love you."** Yami whispered, watching the anger in Seto's eyes flail before returning with renewed strength.

The spirit gasped when Kaiba's punch jolted his head to the side.

 _"You fucking don't."_ Hissed the male. "You wouldn't be protecting that thing if you actually did."

Yami's head was low.

 **"S-Seto... I-I swear-"**

The ghost's word was cut by another violent punch, and then another. And another. And another.

Yami wasn't being hurt by the hits, but the sole fact that _Seto_ was the one doing this... him from all people, was more than enough to make him cower in another kind of pain.

Even when he was being assaulted by the other, he used his tentacles to free Yugi from the chair and force him to leave.

No matter how persistent the boy was while trying to make Kaiba stop hitting him.

Even when Yugi was long gone, Seto's anger wasn't even close to stop. And for the first time in his life, Yami felt pained and dizzy as his body was tortured by the other.

The CEO didn't stop punching him until Yami was a pool of mess and golden liquid dripped out of his fists.

His anger dismissed, and he wasn't sure of what to do now.

The sudden guilt he felt when he saw Yami's golden blood tainting the floor was almost unbearable. He simply had to get on his knees and pick the injured ghost up.

The spirit's head fell flat against his shoulder and the rest of Yami's members went limp. It was almost like the ghost was about to become liquid in his arms.

"Yami..." He whispered softly, hoping to get some sort of response. The spirit was still and silent.

Something other than guilt began to twirl in his body when no matter how much he called, Yami wouldn't respond.

 _Fear._

"Yami...?"

"Yami...!"

Seto held Yami's head so he could look at him in the face. The warm golden of the ghost's eyes was getting darker and darker as yellow liquid tainted Kaiba's clothes, almost as if Yami's body was being bled dry.

 _"Yami...Yami..."_ Seto began to whisper, trying to use his hands and coat to stop the golden blood. He knelled on the ground and put Yami carefully on the floor, swallowing hard.

Even with Seto's thick coat firmly wrapped around him, Yami wouldn't stop bleeding. For the first time since Yami's sickness after biting Gozaburo, Kaiba realized just how ignorant he was on how his ghost's body worked. Staching his wounds didn't help _at all._

Yami was still silent. Yami was still hurt.

Seto knew he had to do _something_. But he was frozen solid, his eyes glued in the way Yami's body withered as his insides dripped away. He couldn't move- he was unable to even utter a word. The fact that he had probably _beaten his friend to death_ weighed on his shoulders and made tears burn on the back of his eyes.

The human-like body Yami trained so hard to achieve soon became meager and hollow- an empty shell devoid of it's golden filling. That same liquid was now spread in a pool on the floor.

Reality struck the CEO like lightning, and he forced himself to reach Yami's arm with a trembling hand. He touched it as tenderly as he could, but the hollow member succumbed to the light weight and fell off, spreading into black dust when it hit the floor.

Kaiba couldn't take it.

For the first time in years he wasn't able to hold his tears in. Tortured sounds forced their way up his throat as he tried to pull Yami closer, burying his face on the other's hair. It hurt. Everything hurt and the pain was only getting worse as Yami's chest was succumbing under his tight grip... Dark dust mixing with the cooling yellow liquid tainting his clothes. Soon Kaiba recognized the sounds he was making as whimpers and sobs. He was disgusted at his own weakness but he couldn't keep anything in anymore. He couldn't believe he would never see Yami again. He couldn't believe he wouldn't have Yami's warmth sleeping next to him nor the ghost's stupid grin after doing something he was proud of. He couldn't believe that he would have to take guards wherever he went instead of Yami's pleasurable company.

Didn't he do all this to keep Yami by his side?

His grip on the small dark body was so tight that the immobile spirit's torso had almost completely turned into dust. Tearful blue eyes looked up to Yami's face again... hoping for some sort of miraclefull response... only to see empty, pinch black holes instead of Yami's beautiful golden eyes.

It hurt.

Everything hurt so much.

Yami couldn't be gone.

There was just no way.

Kaiba spent hours trembling beside the immobile corpse, still don't believing in what happened. Everything was over way too fast...

His mind was almost convincing him that he'd come back home to Yami's smiling face and warm body, but...

The dried tears on his face made him feel uncomfortable. With a deep sigh, he got on his knees and held Yami in his arms again. With a trembling hand, he tried to get some of the gold liquid back into Yami's body, even if knew it was an useless effort.

When the teen got tired of trying, he got up. Yami was turning into dust, Seto was pretending to not see it. He forced himself to carry the hollow ghost to his limo, carefully placing him in the back seat.

The CEO's mind was already working into a way to bring Yami back. Maybe if he got the Puzzle and let him hold it once again? What if he melted the Puzzle and inserted the gold into Yami's body? There was no way his ghost wasn't going to wake up again.

Signaling Isono to wait, Kaiba went back to the building were it all happened. He spend a good hour looking for the Puzzle with no avail. Anger and terror began to build up on his chest, especially when he realized that his archifact was nowhere to be found.

 _Yami couldn't go anywhere without the Puzzle._

 _ **It was supposed to be there.**_

"That bastard... that _bastard!"_ Kaiba began to whisper as he examined every single bit of the corridor Yami passed through.

Yami had arrived through this corridor...

...

..and Yugi had _left_ through this corridor.

"That. Fucking. _Thief_!" The CEO roared before knocking the objects over the corridor's desk off. He broke some of them.

 _"He took my Puzzle... he took my Puzzle..."_ Seto started to mutter. The disturbed teen walked through the dammed halls of childhood memories and pains. Fists clenched shut together as he tried his best to control his anger...

"Yami..."

 _How come things go so wrong?_

The enraged man slammed the door when he left the building. A loud sound echoed through the now dark street. It was the wooden door cracking and falling apart behind him. He didn't care. He got inside his limo and pulled Yami's body closer.

He couldn't believe he lost to Yugi. He couldn't believe he lost to that runt.

 _"War and games have a very close relationship, Seto. Every game is a war, and every war is a game. Whenever you lost a game to anyone, you can consider yourself dead."_

.

.

.

 _ **"Losing means death."**_

A flash of Yami's lightless eyes blinded Seto's mind for a few moments.

Gozaburo's lessons couldn't be more on point if they tried.

It's been a month. An _entire,_ painful month.

It was hard to explain what happened to Mokie, especially since Seto didn't want to remember any of what happened that night. He just pushed all blame for Yami's death onto Yugi's shoulders and left it at it.

The already unstable CEO became almost unbearable for his mourning little brother and staff. His attitude turned so bitter and angered that Mokuba started to imitate his older brother in hopes that it'd make Seto proud of him and happy again.

But Kaiba was just lost in his own pain and anger. He felt dead inside since the incident, and even though deep, deep down he knew it was all his fault... he couldn't help but feel absolute hatred towards Yugi for simply being there and doing nothing but steal the artifact that kept Yami healthy and alive.

Dark blue eyes focused on the various theme park plans on his desk. He had so many ideas. Just so many ideas of how to destroy Yugi and everything he cared for.

Maybe a tower of horror and hopelessness would be enough.

"Kaiba-kun surely has lots of fans..." Yugi muttered, looking at the giant crowd of fanboys shouting Kaiba's name as they entered the newly founded park.

"Not that he deserves them anyway." Scoffed Jounouchi.

"C'mon, Jou-kun..." Muttered the smaller one, looking at the CEO guiding them through his park. Kaiba personally invited him and Katsuya to see his new atraction- not very nicely, but not very violently either. Yugi was still scared of the tall male for everything that happened a month ago, but Kaiba seemed so happy and changed... and Yugi would not let someone go without a second chance. Mokuba wasn't nice at all though, the poor kid must have gotten his bad manners from his brother's old attitudes...

After a tour through the park, the three teens entered an huge metallic dome. It was filled with excited little kids. Kaiba took them to the center of the arena, were was a huge glass cube. Yugi was looking around with impressed eyes, gasping at the immense size of the building. That until he finally looked at what was inside the transparent box-

 _"G-Grandpa?!"_

The crazed CEO stood in front of the entrance for the cubicle, insane eyes glaring at full strength.

"Let's start the inauguration, won't we?" He yelled, his voice echoing on the stadium. A powerful wave of cheers filled the room soon after these words.

"K-Kaiba... what's the meaning of this?" Yugi forced out, afraid for his grandpa.

Kaiba's eyes turned at him. The CEO noticed how Yugi didn't add the "kun" to his last name, and raised an eyebrow.

"Revenge, Yugi. What else it would be?" He laughed, turning to the glass box. Crazed eyes shining with delight as he joined the old man in the duel cube.

"K-Kaiba! Let him go!" Yugi punched the glass with both hands and Jounouchi repeatedly kicked the door in hopes of forcing it to open. Neither of them had success.

The CEO simply let out a maniac laugh while Sugoroku looked at his grandson.

"Don't worry, Yugi." He tried to calm the boy down. "I'll not lose. Not while my heart is in this cards! Someone like this kid wouldn't ever be able to win against me!"

Kaiba scoffed at him, and started the duel.

Sadly, it wasn't meant to be.

Surprised by the realistic holograms and Kaiba's three Blue Eyes White Dragons, Sugoroku wasn't able to stand a chance. After his loss, Seto pulled a card out of his coat with a sick smile on his face.

"Do you recognize this card...?" The younger male asked before ripping the card into pieces. Laughing at the horror in the old man's face, the CEO stepped out of the box were two equally horrified teens looked at him.

"Just like you, Yugi, his punishment isn't over..." With a simple press of a button, Kaiba's holograms began to darken and then melt away, bodies mixing together as despicable pounds of black goo. Soon, the mounts of holographic darkness took form, growing taller and slender in form.

"Y-Yug! That Thing looks like you!" Jou exclaimed, widened brown eyes focused on the terrifying look-alike.

It was the first time both Seto and Yugi noticed it.

That only made the CEO even more angered.

Pulling a lever, he accelerated the process and in no time, a huge dark ghost with yellow eyes approached the old man trapped inside the duel box. The thing's sicky yellow mouth opened, revealing a huge set of black teeth. Golden liquid dripped out of it's mouth and through it's chin as it let out a deafening screech.

The old man cowered against the walls of glass.

"G-GAAAAAAAHH!"

"G-Grandpa!" Yugi turned to the insane business man. "T-Turn this off Kaiba! Turn this off now!"

A teeth-filled smile was the boy's only answer.

"If you want me to turn it off, you'll have to get through **Death-T** ".

A round of loud cheering filled the stadium once again.

"I-I'LL DO IT! Just turn that thing off!"

Snorting, the CEO did exactly that. Seeing a hologram of his beloved ghost may have been comforting at first, but after an while it just served to remember him that Yami was no longer there.

When the duel box was clear once again, Yugi tried to get inside the box and was surprised to discover it was now open. He dashed inside, pulling grandpa so he could sit down, but the old man was just breathing heavily on his arms.

"G-Grandpa..." The boy muttered, tears filling his purple eyes.

"Y-Yugi... take my deck... I know you can teach that... Kaiba kid what's really important in a game with someone..." The older man touched Yugi's backpack.

"Now that you have it... no one will ever be able to defeat you. I know that very personally... with it by your side, harm will never come in your way. Use it... don't be afraid to show it to the world..."

"G-Grandpa..."

With a harsh cough, Sugoroku closed his eyes. Yugi clumsily grabbed his phone, fingers almost slipping in the numbers as he called Hanasaki as fast as he could muster.

He had to leave his grandpa behind, but he knew that Hanasaki had him covered. He had to do as Kaiba told him, otherwise unspeakable things would definitely happen to him and Jounouchi as well. He had to trust that his friend would take grandpa to the hospital and go ahead. Enraged purple eyes watched as the dammed CEO got in the elevator in the middle of the stage. The brown haired man left with yet another round of applause. The thought of these kids seeing Kaiba as their idol made Yugi sick.

Kaiba sat on the top of his Tower of Death, a huge smile playing on his lips. He couldn't _wait_ to see Yugi being destroyed inside his tower. He wondered how many floors he'd last? Kaiba certainly hoped that he'd get the chance to finish him himself.

The CEO took his hands to under his chin, intertwining them. His patience was running dry in the first two hours already. Maybe he should have made it three floors tall- even though it wouldn't look intimidating at all.

He was suspicious at how _well_ Yugi was doing. Of course he had that blonde guy, his badly chosen employee, that insignificant gangster and a baby to help him out. But they were all so skilless Kaiba was surprised they weren't dragging Yugi down with them.

Soon they had passed through _three_ floors, and even though the gangster died, the rest of them was still moving, and Kaiba **hated** that. Mokuba was supposed to end them in the fourth floor, but Seto _knew_ he wasn't going to make it. Yugi's _weird_ sprints of luck weren't going to end until they faced each other personally.

And just as Kaiba calculated, his brother lost, **obligating** Seto to punish him with a penalty. Of course Yugi had to fucking pull him out of the simulation, just to make Kaiba's life worse _once again_. Anger was already building up in Kaiba's chest as Yugi got into the elevator to his own floor.

Enraged blue eyes finally met with darkened purple ones.

"So, you've finally arrived..."

"Stop this."

Yugi's voice was deeper than usual. His purple eyes were turning... slightly pink? A dim light was coming from his stomach...

The CEO's eyes suddenly became huge.

It was...!

 _ **"My Puzzle!"**_ Kaiba forced out, his rage intensifying so much Yugi was probably able to feel it from the other side of the room.

"This is _**my**_ Puzzle, Kaiba."

"Your..." Hissed the CEO, eyes flaming with rage.

 _"Your?!"_ He yelled, slamming his hands on the table and looking the other in the eyes once again.

His heart nearly stopped when all he saw was two blood-red orbs and a excruciatingly familiar golden eye on the other's forehead.

 **Cliffhanger! Yay! :D**

 **I don't have much to say other than a "Sorry" for taking so long. School and Work have been way too time-consuming, and I had no vacations last year, so I didn't have any extra time. I really hope you guys liked this chapter, and I hope it was a good start for this new year! :D.**

 **Please comment, fave, or follow if you like my fic! It'll really inspire me to write faster and make my day!**

 _ **Wolf's Vine,**_ **I have to especially thank YOU for commenting so quickly and inspiring me to write most of this chapter in one sit! Thank you so much for the support, and I'm extremely happy that you enjoyed my bizarre smut scene, haha. You've got an amazing answer, didn't you? :). I can't spoil my own story though! I highly hope you didn't have a heart attack with this chap! xD. Seto is delusional and getting deeper into insanity because of Gozaburo's teaching. He lost the ability to properly love someone, and is desperate to keep anything that matters to him by his side. Yami and Yugi like each other already, and that quick connection sounded all sorts of alarms inside of Seto's ill mind. I hope you'll stay following my fic and discover what happens next ;).**

 _ **Howl3,**_ **Oh God, I'm worried about you! D: . You've been sick for such a long time! I really hope you'll get well soon, please focus on getting better! _(_ _) _ . I'm glad you liked the lemon scene, it was very awkward to write, huahaha! xD. POOR YAMI INDEED. Seto isn't holding his "spit" in anytime soon, haha. You always inspire me so much, thank you for the continuous support! S2. The Game Shop isn't going down so soon, hahaha. I really wonder what you thought of THIS chapter then! xD. Thank you again, I hope you'll get better soon!**

 _ **Kiki**_ **, Hello there! :D. A new person? Wow! I try to keep everyone as canon as possible, because for me, there's few things as perfect as YGO xD. Yami is the only one considerably different because he wasn't able to get Yugi's memories and world views this time- he was basically "born" without a single memory and used Seto as a basis for everything he knows. That made him innocent yet dangerous. Like you said, he's like a learning kid. I'm trying to slowly turn him into his canon self, and I think I'm getting there! Hah, I wonder what you think about this new chapter here xD. It's Yami's transition from a shadow-made body to... something different. I still have to decide if he'll be touchable or not, or even visible for Seto at all. Seto will definitely prefer him as a shadow anyways, haha. I think so too. The soul room is always an option! Huahaha, I'm glad you felt that way because that's what I was trying to express! Kaiba is getting out of hand and deciding things too early, too fast. I also love possessive! Kaiba, and I wonder if he'll calm down... I also wonder if you'll want to kill me for how I "solved" the situation, hahaha. WOW, your English is pretty great! :D. I could understand you perfectly! . Oh man, you can tell me were the errors are when you find them, so I can correct them later! (Sometimes I use Jou instead of Jounouchi so I won't repeat his name too much. When that happens it becomes tiring and repetitive to read! ^^. I'll try to find other alternatives though! Thank you for enjoying my story!)**


	15. Punishment

**Warnings: Coma, Yami losing his shadow form and smut. A tiny little bit, but still. This chapter is pretty soft actually.**

 **I'm so sorry for the wait, but my life just got impossibly harder. I feel like I'll have to end this fic much sooner than I wanted to... so sorry if things seem a bit too rushed! I'm hoping to have a chapter for DK, one for BC and one for MW. Maybe DSOD will make an appearence too, but we won't know until we get there!**

 **Anyways, enjoy the chap guys.**

* * *

"Y...Yami...?" Was the whisper that came out of Seto's trembling mouth.

 **"Game, Start!"**

Kaiba blinked and aligned his back to the leather armchair once again. A warm smile grew on his face.

"Yami... you almost scared me to death. Come here... I missed you."

Deep red eyes just stared blindly at the other male. Yami approached, but not to embrace Seto or kiss him on the cheek... Yami approached so he could sit at the other side of the table. His eyes turned away from confused blue orbs as he shuffled the deck on his hands.

"Yami... what are you doing?"

"Duel me." The former spirit whispered, muscles tight with tension.

"What? Why?" The CEO asked with genuine confusion littering his voice. Yami swallowed dry when he saw just how _soft_ the other's blue eyes were. They tricked anyone who wasn't aware of what exactly Seto was capable of doing.

"..."

Yami didn't bother responding.

The love and care inside the business man's eyes soon became tainted with anger as his beloved friend ignored his questions.

 _"Yami."_ He growled. "Explain yourself _right now_ "

The red eyed teen remained silent.

Anger kept building inside the young CEO, and soon he slammed his hands on the table once again.

 _"Fine!_ Have it your way. After this _pointless_ duel we can go home." Seto's eyes were completely filled with menace when he finished those words.

The former ghost shivered slightly on his place. He hated seeing Kaiba act like this. It just... wasn't the kid Yami was determined to protect at all costs. What happened? When did things go wrong?

"Seto..." He whispered. It hurt to act like this. It hurt so badly. He just wanted to run into Seto's arms and never let go of his aibou again, but-

"What's wrong? Are you _afraid_?" Kaiba growled, ready for the start of the duel. Yami swallowed dry once again before accepting his aibou's challenge.

He had to fix this.

Kaiba was _extremely_ strong. Yami could barely hold himself up to his skills, and the insane smile on the other's face wasn't helping matters to the spirit's concentration.

 _"Mou hitori no boku..."_

The soft whisper inside the ghost's mind made him blink and turn his head around.

Yugi's ghostly figure was there, smiling at him. " _You have to remember what Grandpa said, mou hitori no boku."_

 _ **What Grandpa said...?**_

With a deep breath, Yami drew a card. His face distorted into a frown when yet again, it was a useless monster with very weak attack stats. Kaiba had tree Blue Eyes in the field, and one more attack would have him doomed. The only thing he could do was stop Kaiba's dragons for some turns by activating Swords of Light. An insane smile filled Kaiba's face. He knew that he had this victory in the bag. He was leaning his shoulders on the table, darkened blue eyes examining his opponent with a malicious glee.

Yami's entire body was shaking upon the other's stare. He couldn't lose this. He _wouldn't_ lose this.

Looking at his hand again, he noticed that the monsters he had looked... weird. It was like they were... broken pieces of each other. He had two legs, two arms and a head. But what _could_ he do?! He didn't have enough turns to summon all of these pieces!

Grabbing his Puzzle tightly, he let out a sigh of despair. _What Grandpa said...?_

 _ **"**_ **Now that you have it... no one will ever be able to defeat you..."**

 _"Now that I have it...?"_ Red eyes widened in realization. " _My Puzzle!"_

Yami looked at the golden artifact in his hands. But what could it do to help...?

Then finally, he understood.

The Puzzle pieces- the cards were _puzzle pieces_. "Right Arm of The _Forbidden One_ ". "Left Leg of the _Forbidden One."_ They were... parts of something else.

They were parts of _someone_ else.

With a deep breath, he looked up to Kaiba, red eyes filled up to the brim with determination. Seto's smile wavered.

"I summon _**Exodia, The Forbidden One**_!"

"W-What!" The CEO gasped as a pentagram appeared behind his Yami. Large yellow hands pulled themselves out of the shining star, grasping the table where the duel was taking place with indescriptible strength. Using their newfound equilibrium to leverage the rest of their monstrous body out... a terrifying face soon appeared. The unknown being emanated power.

Kaiba could feel his heart jumping inside his chest. What _was_ that thing?!

He couldn't breathe. The pressure was too strong- the _fear_ was too strong.

" _ **E-Exodia!**_ But that's impossible! No one has ever been able to summon it!"

"It's time for you to pay for your sins, Kaiba..." Yami's voice was almost a whisper. He closed his eyes and raised his hand.

" **Exodia... OBLITERATE!"**

The last thing Yami was able to hear was his aibou's terrified scream before he cowardly pushed himself back inside the Puzzle and left Yugi alone to deal with the mess he left behind.

Months went by. Kaiba went into some sort of catatonic state, and despise Yugi's best efforts, Yami wouldn't talk anymore. The ghost spend his days locked inside the Puzzle, curled up miserably in a dark corner. Soon, Yugi decided it was time to stop.

"Mou hitori no boku..." Whispered the kid, sitting beside the curled up ghost. "I... you know that it was necessary, don't you? Seto-kun could have killed all of us- Jou, Anzu, Honda... even me and you. You did what you had to do."

A soft hum was emitted from the mass of darkness. Yami was still very depressed over what happened.

With a sigh, Yugi patted what he assumed that was the spirit's head.

"Don't beat yourself up like that. It's not even like the punishment is going to last forever."

 **"I know."** The ghost answered in a whisper. **"But- I-I can't believe I did that to Seto. He doesn't- I don'... I can't believe I did that. What if it wasn't even necessary? He was trying to make me come back to him- he was- I..."**

"Yami." Yugi said firmly. "You did nothing wrong. Seto was out of control. He hurt Mokuba. He hurt me. He hurt our friends... he hurt _you_." The smaller teen pulled his friend closer. "All you did was _help him._ Help him to find another way. If he's as strong as you kept saying to me, he'll be out of that coma in no time."

 **"Yugi..."** Yami muttered, yellow eyes peeking out of the darkness. The boy realized he was actually petting the spirit's back during all this time. **"Thank you... I'm... thank you..."**

"No worries." Yugi smiled. "Let's get out of here, ok? Mokuba is worried sick about both of his bros." Yami let out a shy smile. He ha to explain everything to Mokie and... go see Seto again. He was glad Yugi was being gentle enough to take him there.

The mansion seemed darker and scarier than usual. Yami could almost FEEL Seto's absence and it hurt him so badly. He followed Yugi through the dark corridors, his amorphous body slithering right beside the other.

Yami was very quiet. He was ashamed to be here. He was ashamed to walk through the corridors Seto once walked. He was so ashamed.

"Yami..." Whispered the teen. He didn't have the chance to say much more before a small figure attacked him.

"GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Yugi feel flat onto his back, trying to push whatever was pulling his hair out of him.

"Leave Yami alone you low-classed B-AAAH! "

The kid shook from side to side violently as Yami grabbed him by the waist with a set of slimy tentacles. Yugi finally was left alone, startled and out of breath on the cold floor.

 **"Mokie?"** The ghost blinked in confusion. What was his little aibou doing?

The dark-haired kid hugged the tentacles around him, eyes filled with water. "Yami!" He sobbed.

Yami pulled Mokuba closer, envelopping him with his long, dark arms. The kid began to sob on his chest and mumble about something that was too muffled to hear.

It reminded Yami of Seto when he was young.

 **"Mokie..."** He whispered weakly. " **Mokie, everything will be ok. Everything will be alright, you hear? I'll fix everything, ok? Nothing can ever beat me, I never lose. I will never lose. And you know that's true for Seto, too."**

The entire situation was too familiar. WAY too familiar. It was almost like living a deja vu.

But nevertheless... he could feel his little aibou calming down. With a sigh, he started muttering...

"Mokie. We're here to visit Seto. Please apologize to Yugi. He's a friend."

"A friend?! What are you talking about, Yami!? Didn't you see what he did to Seto? He-"

 **"That was me, Mokie."** The ghost whispered, eyes turning blank as he tried to hide his emotions. As low as the phrase was, it echoed through the corridors, a courtesy of Yami's haunting voice.

Confusion-filled dark eyes looked up to him.

"H-Huh?"

 **"Seto... he was... out of control. He was hurting you, me, and lots of other people."**

Mokuba quickly disentangled himself from Yami's grip, pushing him away. The spirit whimpered in a pained way.

"W-Why? Why would you do that? S-Seto... he's- HE'S EVERYTHING WE HAVE!"

 **"M-Mokie... Seto is fine. He's building his own heart once again... this time, without anyone to tell him how to be and what to do. He'll wake up. And he'll be just like he was in the orphanage, I swear. "**

The kid gritted his teeth in nervousness. He didn't know how to feel. Yami never lied. He was... just too innocent and nice. His level of trust in him and Seto was borderline stupid. But... if their ghost really did that to Seto... how could he trust him?

"I... I..." With a sigh, Mokie brought both hands to his head. "I trust you. Seto HAS to wake up. He just HAS to." Looking up to Yami, he saw just how... HOPEFUL the spirit's eyes were. And not just that... the ghost's jaw was semi-opened, a silly, golden smile appearing on his dark face.

Mokuba felt horrible about what he had to do.

"Follow me, you two. I'll take you to were Seto is."

Yami followed him happily, body now floating leisurly over the ground instead of dragging itself through the corridors.

It didn't take any time for them to arrive. Mokuba swallowed dry before opening the doors for his big brother's room.

It was time to settle this.

Yami slowly entered the place, testing the waters. He sniffed the air, turning his nose. It smelled like a hospital. Like dozens of medications over medications. It was disgusting.

The spirit floated to the wheelchair in the far end of the room. He could feel Seto's presence there. A very weak, exhausted presence, but it was there. Yami approached meekly, yellow eyes scanning the sight before him.

Seto was resting innocently against the cushioned wheelchair. He looked so fragile like this. So... helpless. It made Yami's protective senses burn brightly to life. The ghost immediately curled up protectively around his aibou, growling like a wild animal.

He squeezed Seto tightly, nuzzling him tenderly. "Aibou..." He whispered, a loud purr filling the room a few seconds later. The ghost was deeply satisfied with Kaiba's warmth. It assured him that his aibou was very much well and alive.

"Well, this went a lot better than I expected." Mokuba commented to Yugi, the slightest bit of humor filling his voice. The purple-eyed teen watched the scene before him with widened eyes.

"Has Yami always been like this?" He whispered in wonder. Mokuba got flustered.

"Uhhhh... yeah. He's very... cuddly. It's a bit hard to make him let go after he starts curling around you."

After hearing Mokuba's words, Yugi turned back to the scene before him in awe. Yami began to nuzzle Seto's face, a soft purr filling the room. The two other boys started to feel uncomfortable by standing there, so Mokuba signaled to the older male so they both could leave.

Even after being left in the dark,the ghost was unfazed. He kept caressing his aibou, sniffing lightly at how much he had missed the other's warmth.

This went on for some weeks. After being reunited with his aibou, Yami refused to leave. Yugi had to visit him in the mansion, which Mokuba allowed happily. He was sick of being alone in that huge place.

When Yugi came to visit, his friends usually did too. There was a blonde one, a weird-haired one and a girl. Mokuba could recall seeing them in Death-T. His brother didn't pay them much mind, but Mokuba could see that they were truly great friends. It wasn't anyone who could defy his brother and stay alive. Their bonds were what brought them to victory... he just hoped that he, Seto and Yami had such strength to get over what they were going through as well.

Weeks soon turned into months, and months got dangerously close of becoming an year.

Mokuba, Yami and the Yugi-tachi got almost accommodated with their new routines. The younger Kaiba brother could see desperation starting to dwell inside Yami's eyes, but the ghost was trying his best to not let him give up hope.

But it was hard.

It was so hard.

The employees were starting to whisper lies around, important members of the company began to thirst for Seto's place in the CEO chair. That bastard Pegasus came to Seto's headquarters and walked around as if he owned the place.

Mokuba couldn't help but start to get desperate.

He couldn't handle all of this on his own.

Seto _had_ to wake up.

Yami promised he'd wake up...

...

It had been an while since Yami moved from his place on Seto's chair.

The ghost obviously felt very bad for his actions, which made Mokuba wonder why the spirit did them in the first place. Seto may have been mean, and screamed at them, and even hurt Yami in some occasions, but he was still Seto!

Wasn't he...?

Tired of dwelling in these depressing thoughts, Mokie tried to convince Yami to go eat something. The spirit didn't move.

Mokuba went back to wondering what Seto would do to Yami _when_ he woke up.

Yami didn't look like he used to at all. He hasn't looked like his old self for months. Actually... even since they left the orphanage he hasn't looked like his old self.

The Yami they knew was a sweet, loving amorphous monstrosity.

But this Yami...

After he met this Yugi kid, he started to change. The ghost may have tried to hide it, but Mokie noticed that he lost his ability to shrink and grow at will. He lost his claws. The sharp teeth.

And now... he was losing his natural color as well.

One day, without warning, Yami's eyes melted down his face. Mokie almost freaked out thinking that the poor ghost had gone blind, but he could see just fine.

It was just a scare.

But as time passed, Yami changed more and more. The darkness in his body melted out, a tiny bit each day, every time he interacted with Yugi and his friends, every time he got a bit more distant from Seto.

It... hurt.

It hurt to see Yami changing like that.

He was the only thing Mokuba ever saw as a stagnant, unchanging thing. An eternal protector, always there for company and assistance. An eternal friend.

But...

"Hey, Yami..." He approached the now almost fully-transparent ghost. Fiery red eyes looked at him. A soft smile opened on the man's face. He now had normal, white teeth to go along with his pale, wavering body.

 _"Mokie."_

His deep voice echoed hauntingly around the room.

"Why... why do you mimic Yugi? You have the tricolored hair, the weird adornments, even the uniform for God's sake. What's so special about him?! You barely even know each other!"

 _"I'm not mimicking him, Mokuba."_ Yami answered softly. _"We just happen to look alike."_

"Seto is not going to like that." The young kid growled.

Seeing Mokuba's unamused face, the spirit smiled and looked out of the window.

 _"I have a theory."_ Yami went silent, trying to contain himself for suspense's sake. _"He must be a descendant of mine."_

"WHAT!?"

 _"I AM a ghost, you know."_ The spirit laughed. _"And I feel... connected to Yugi somehow. As if we were fated to meet."_ The man's usually hardened eyes became a very soft shade of red.

 _"Mokuba... tell me. How did Seto get my Puzzle? I need to know. I really, really need to know. Please."_

"Uh..." Muttered the kid. Mokuba swallowed dry before whispering:

"We got it from Yugi."

 _"What?"_

"We got it from Yugi!" He forced out. "Yugi had it first. Seto... Seto got it later."

Yami's figure wavered.

 _"So he stole it."_ He whispered weakly.

"NO! Seto wanted to give it back but Yugi never came back to the orphanage and we didn't know what to do and-"

 _"Don't worry, Mokie. I'm delighted with how things came out. I'm delighted that we got to meet each other. I love Seto with everything I have."_ The ghost smiled, floating over the unconscious teen's wheelchair.

 _"But you two have to accept that I'm bonded with Yugi, too."_

Mokuba swallowed hard, anger written all over his face. "If it wasn't for him, this mess would've never happened."

 _"Seto was corrupted by Gozaburo's lessons, Mokie. He'd have started to hurt us if 'this mess' had never happened. I'm sorry."_

Mokuba suffocated a sob, rubbing his right eye with his pajama's sleeves.

He didn't want to say it. He really didn't want to.

"I _know_ , Yami. I know."

* * *

He felt so heavy.

It was like he had been sitting in the same place for over two years.

"Yami..." Was the first thing he groaned.

 _"Seto...!"_

The ghost's response echoed through the entire room.

 _"Seto! SETO!"_

The CEO still hadn't opened his eyes, but a huge smile grew on his face. Yami was here. Yami was really here.

Something similar to warm waves of air wrapped tightly around his torso.

"Yami..."

 _"Seto...Seto...Seto..."_

Blue eyes opened slowly to an weirdly transparent ghost glued to his chest.

"Yami... you...?"

 _"Yes, it's me. I swear. It's me."_

"You're... different..." Kaiba's weak state of mind could only relate the spiky locks of hair and beautiful sharp eyes to Yami and no one else.

 _"You've been gone for a while."_ The spirit sobbed. Holding the CEO's shirt up, he licked the other's abdomen, from his navel to his chest. Nibbling the soft skin, he went back down.

"Hmmmn... hmmm..." Seto moaned. "At it already? I'm proud of you." He teased with a smile.

A loud purr was his only response.

When Yami carefully pulled his pants down, Kaiba took a deep breath. "Hm. Careful there."

 _"My teeth aren't as sharp as before."_ Yami said softly over the half erect member, making Seto gasp at the feeling.

"Good." He muttered.

When Yami wrapped his tongue around the sensitive flesh, Kaiba let out a loud groan. "I-I guess your tongue is still the same."

Yami hummed in response, pulling the warm, round head in. He slowly pushed his head forward, shivering with the feeling of Seto's member sliding down his throat. It seemed way bigger than before...?

When the CEO's member was comfortably situated inside him, Yami started to move his head up and down. Seto began to pant heavily, holding the spirit's head in a tight grip and forcing him to speed up the pace. Yami was happy to oblige.

Kaiba tilted his head back, screaming out his pleasure in such a way that it was incredible that no one came to check up on him yet.

That lasted for a good handful of minutes until finally, he choked one of his screams by biting his lip. With a satisfied sigh, he released inside Yami's mouth. His essence dripped out of the ghost's lips, tainting the floor. The spirit backed away carefully, tongue swinging around as he tried to capture as much descendance as he could.

"That... was... a nice way to wake up..." The CEO panted out with a huge smile on his face. Yami swallowed the cream in his mouth before hugging Seto once again, nuzzling his neck.

 _"I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry Seto..."_

Kaiba immediately knew what his ghost was sobbing about.

He pushed Yami close, giving him a fiery kiss.

"Don't worry. Don't worry at all. I had lost myself. I had lost myself for the stupidity of that man." He sighed when Yami simply kept whining.

"I love you. I swear. " The CEO mumbled, remembering how awful he was to this wonderful, loyal being attached to him.

It seemed like Yami wasn't going to respond, but he suddenly heard a soft...

 _"I love you, too."_

Seto hugged the spirit tightly. He was still dazed from being unconscious for so long, he was still sore and he was still confused as hell but... he was free. He wasn't tied to that bastard Gozaburo any longer. He had no weight hanging on his back.

...It seemed that things were going to get better and better for them now.

They could only hope.

* * *

 _ **Howl3,**_ **Hey there, friend! S2. It's been an awful while, hasn't it? You're the most consistent out of all my reviewers and I feel so sorry for not being able to update for you, ugh. I hope your health is going well, you deserve to be the healthiest person in the world! I'm glad that you liked the previous chapter and can only hope you'll like this one as well, haha! ^w^**

 **IMPORTANT: Hey, Valentine! Of course you can translate my fic in Thai, just don't forget to credit and link me to it, please! ^^. I hope you see this, I couldn't message you because you're in as a guest and I take a long time to update. I'm actually pretty surprised you want to translate this, hahahah. I'm very flattered! S2**

 **As always, if you like my fic, please comment, fave it, follow it, anything like that is a HUGE, HUGE support and makes me update so much faster than I usually do! Especially now that the fic is heading to it's end... oh man, it has been so much time since I started it... especial thanks for Howl for hanging around for so long, you deserve all of my love!**


	16. Enemies from the Past

**First of all, I am** _ **extremely**_ **sorry that I took so long to update. I know that I said it might be long, but I didn't expect to take such an eternity to do so. I want to thank, from the very bottom of my heart, the visitor Rhyfedd for their lovely comments. Even though very short, I absolutely adored every single one of them and they breathed life in this almost defunct story. It was because of them that I was inspired to continue, and I am very glad that I did because I still love this idea to no end. You have all of my love, friend. This insanely big chapter is dedicated to you.**

* * *

"What do you mean you 'can't feel him'?!" Seto said, glaring at the spirit on top of him. They were having such a good time, kissing and caressing, what was this all of a sudden?

Yami's face turned into a frown.

" _It means that Mokie has either fainted, or cut me off."_ The translucent ghost whispered, horror quickly filling his face. " _Mokie NEVER cuts me off."_ He continued.

Kaiba was starting to freak out.

"What the hell happened to him?! Isono better take care of himself because when I get my hands on him I'll-"

 _"We should go search for him_ _. RIGHT NOW."_ Yami stated, arising from his place over Seto's chest.

The CEO fiercely agreed.

They ran out of the room Seto had awoken in a few hours earlier and dashed through the corridors. Kaiba asked everyone around for Mokuba and Isono, ignoring the screams and desperate questions from the people who just saw him in a coma a few hours ago.

Seto ran to his office, falling heavily to his chair. He just had to open his computer to receive a huge message flooding his screen.

"Duelist Kingdom, huh." He muttered. Yami was peeking over his shoulder, and he instantly growled at the castle on the promotional ad that popped up.

 _"Pegasus."_ Hissed the spirit, his entire form wavering in the air to express his distress. " _I was hoping we'd be able to avoid him for other three years or so."_

"In our wildest dreams, Yami. That bastard has been trying to take over KC since we've first met. The only way to get him out of our lives is to have him nice and dead."

 _"Well, we'll have to take care of that, shall we."_ The growl was deeper and colder than Seto expected it to be. Looking over to Yami, a smile grew on his face.

The ghost had his fingers embed on the hard, dark-wood table, red eyes glimmering with pure fury. Seto was having a hard time containing his excitement. Yami was apparently going back to his violent roots and this would help a lot in their fight against Pegasus.

He finished collecting the needed data and turned the computer off before grasping his briefcase tightly. Looking over his spirit, they nodded to each other and ran out of the building.

They jumped in the helicopter that was just landing from it's morning flight, Kaiba already barking orders to the two goons inside.

They were going to Duelist Kingdom.

* * *

"How is Yugi-boy doing?"

"He's working his way through the competition pretty well. Hasn't been defeated yet, not even once."

"I guess it's to be expected." Sighed the white haired CEO, toying with his wine. "It would be a shame if the person who relieved Seto Kaiba from his title was a mere impostor."

"That boy is using a very different style than the one he used in his fight with Seto Kaiba though, Sr. We're not able to wrap our minds around this. Do you think he'll make it to the finals?"

"Who knows..."

The man's cold eyes focused on the boy in the screen. The kid was laughing at his friends, and opened a big smile once the blonde one wrapped his arm around him.

 _"Who knows..."_

A bulky man ran towards Pegasus' table, panting. He nervously asked for the CEO's attention and said:

"I don't think that our guest enjoyed his new room..."

The brown eyed man laughed happily, taking a sip of wine.

"So, he escaped. We should've given the kid more credit. His older brother has always been a stubborn one, it isn't a stretch to assume that he would be the same way."

A bite out of the creamy, expensive cheese. Yet another sip of wine.

"Send the Player Killers after him. Warn all of the security guards responsible for the boats. It doesn't matter if he escaped the tower- we're on an island, and if he can't get in the boats, he can't get out."

"Y-Yes, Mrs. Pegasus!" The man exclaimed before running off to follow the orders.

Before the CEO could even take a sip on his wine, another man rushed in, making Pegasus sigh.

"Mrs. Pegasus! Kaiba has landed on the island and he's threatening the entire staff with a weird holographic monster!"

These words made Pegasus frown deeply, they his eyes started to shine.

Laughing, he brushed his employee's worries off.

"I'll make contact with him. In which room he is right now?"

* * *

"I DON'T KNOW WHERE HE IS! I SWEAR!"

"Cut the bullshit, butler. Pegasus is stupid enough to hide a kidnapped kid on his mansion and we know it. Do you want to have your members chopped off that badly?" Kaiba whispered darkly, applying more pressure to his briefcase. The poor man was yelping in terror now, trying to use his hands to push the sharp, metallic case out of his neck but to no avail. A translucent figure was sitting on his back, red eyes shining with rage. Yami had dark, thick tentacles growing out of his back, all wrapped around the butler's members. He also applied pressure, making the man scream.

A loud tingling sound distracted them from their business and made them look towards the huge TV in the room. It lightened up, and soon a familiar face appeared on the screen. Yami retrieved his tentacles and immediately went completely translucent once again. The butler tried to push against Kaiba's briefcase, but was too weak to do so.

"Oh, Kaiba-boy… figures that you'd enter through the front door."

"Tell me where he is, Pegasus. Right now."

"Oh, such rudeness. You aren't even participating on the tournament, why should I bother talking to you?"

"I guess the safety of your employees doesn't concern you at all."

"Please, Kaiba-boy. We both know that the sacrifice is worth it, don't we?"

The blue-eyed teen growled and lifted his foot from the briefcase. The man under it pushed it away from him as fast as he could and ran out, hands wrapped tightly around his bleeding neck.

"Ohohohohoh, I can't believe my eyes. What changed your mind, Kaiba-kun? The you I know would have broken that man's neck without hesitation or remorse the moment you realized he was useless to your objectives."

"I don't have time to waste. What the fuck do you want from me?"

"This is a tournament island, Kaiba. You can't just stroll in and get the prize of my attention while everyone else is working hard out there. Collect ten star chips and come talk to me again."

Pegasus' eyes filled with malicious glee.

"You know, I heard that the current Duel Monsters Champion is participating. I assume you want your title back, eheh. Since you're going to try and win ten start chips, you better go after these guys, because the finalists are already almost all decided. If you don't get ten star chips soon, you're done for, Kaiba boy." Laughed the white haired man before turning off.

Kaiba was silent for some minutes before finally getting up. Yami floated behind him, his translucent form wavering with rage.

 _"Aibou."_

Seto stopped immediately at the sound of Yami's deep voice echoing around him. He turned his head around, slightly annoyed at the precious seconds they were wasting.

 _"You can't- you can't be serious."_ The ghost forced out, floating on front of the brunette. Yami opened his arms. "We can discover where Mokuba is and get the hell out of here, Seto! We just have to find Pegasus and I'll make him talk for you!"

"I also have to recover my title, Yami."

 _"You can do that **later!** Yugi is not going to disappear and leave you unable to fight him again, Kaiba."_

"You, from all people should know that I don't want to fight _Yugi_."

Huge, shocked red eyes stared back at him. Yami's entire form wavered.

"But I do _need_ him if I want to properly fight you."

The spirit was speechless. Kaiba let out a small smile.

"But you're right. We have to focus on our priorities."

Kaiba put a hand over Yami's shoulder. It was almost like his spirit was actually there.

"Let's find him, Yami."

* * *

Yugi finally entered the castle, looking around for any hint of the person who kidnapped his grandpa and forced him to come here.

Pegasus.

He was nowhere to be seen- actually, the staff of the place was running around desperately, screaming and carrying things to a place to another.

"This is the worst reception ever." Commented Anzu, wide eyed.

Yugi could only nod in concordance until a peculiar vision captured his attention. He gasped.

"P-Pegasus!"

All of his friends turned to where he was looking at and gasped in unison. Jounouchi was the first to act and run to the unconscious man.

"Pegasus! Oi! Where did you hide Yugi's Grandpa, you bastard?!"

"J-Jounouchi… I don't think he can answer us." Ryou muttered right behind them, hands pressed tightly on the Ring under his T-shirt. He couldn't help but feel that he was responsible for this somehow.

"W-What are those dark marks on his arms?!" Honda exclaimed, moving as far as he could from the immobile body.

Yugi's eyes got impossibly wide. These were…

"HEY! GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

The crew immediately stepped away from Pegasus, allowing the staff to step closer and grab the CEO.

Pegasus was carried away. Yugi turned his head as far as he could to see if the CEO was hurt and when he saw the man's face, shivers ran through his spine.

The golden eye he was famous for was nowhere to be seen, leaving an empty eye socket behind. The blood soaking the American's face and the several bruises and burns on his arms made an awful feeling settle on Yugi's stomach.

All of this was weirdly familiar.

"OI! WHAT ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT? AND THE PRIZE MONEY?!" Jounouchi screamed at the swarm of doctors and guards.

"Both are canceled! All duelists are being send home in the ship right now. You better go fast or you'll lose the ship and we aren't responsible for it." One of the members of the crew screamed back.

"WHAT!? There's no way we'll get there in time!"

The staff disappeared through the several doors, not answering a word. Jounouchi was and ready to run after them but Honda stopped him.

"We have to get out of here!"

"But- the prize money! What will happen to Shizuka?!"

"We'll have to figure something out, Katsuya! We won't help her in any way if we get stuck here for who knows how long!"

Hearing these words made Jou back off from his behavior, but just slightly. He was still stressed and still crossing his arms tightly against his body.

Honda patted him on the shoulder.

"C'mon dude. Let's get out of here. We're going to find another way and I know it, ok?"

Hesitantly, Jounouchi let his arms fall to his sides. "Okay..." He muttered.

The other three friends were watching the scene with sad eyes. Anzu and Ryou approached to try and cheer Jou up awkwardly. Yugi stood still, dying to comfort his friend but also very worried about his grandpa. Since Pegasus was dead, does that mean that his soul returned? And still, there was Mokuba. He was a good kid and he was trapped somewhere in his dungeon, without anyone to help him out since Kaiba was in a coma. Yugi felt partially responsible for the boy's troubles... he couldn't just leave like that.

"Guys, I'm sure we'll make it out of this island and we'll help Shizuka for sure, but. You all should run and try to catch up with the ship while I look for Mokuba, it'll be easier that way."

The crew looked hesitantly at Yugi, but compiled. Splitting the group in two, three of them went to catch the ship and Yugi, Honda and Jounouchi stayed so they could look for Mokuba in the enormous mansion.

* * *

As soon as Anzu stepped out, she and Mai heard a deafening sound coming from the sea.

"Oh no... no!" Anzu brought her hands to her mouth.

Mai glared at the sailing ship, which was already far away from the island.

"Well. I guess we'll be stuck here for a while."

Anzu looked around, almost desperate to find some sort of miraculous way for them to be able to go home. A shining light caught her attention.

"What is that?" She signaled to the blonde woman next to her. Mai squinted at the glowing object and her eyes filled with delight.

"That's our way home. Let's get back inside and find who owns this thing!"

An interesting symbol on the side of the vehicle immediately caught her attention and the purple eyes filled with confusion.

"Isn't that a helicopter from KC?"

The girl gasped in surprise before looking to the machine again, now noticing the shiny "KC" symbol over the side.

"Kaiba..." Muttered Anzu with a deep frown. "If he's our only way out it's quite likely that we'll end up here regardless."

Mai looked at her without understanding.  
"Kaiba may be an asshole during duels but he's a respectful business man and really loves orphan children. Give him a little more credit, Anzu. I bet we can convince him to give us a ride with some careful steps, he isn't THAT cold hearted."

Anzu simply tightened her lips in a straight line, using all of her self control to not flood Mai's ears with the Death-T disaster.

"Well... he's our only way out. Let's get back inside and see if we can find him there."

* * *

After roaming the entire mansion, Yugi, Jou and Honda managed to find the stairs leading to the underground dungeon.

"MOKUBA!" Yugi called out. His voice echoed through the stone corridors. He heard a weird sound echoing back and stopped on his tracks.

Jou and Honda slid to a stop beside him, almost falling over with the sudden break.

"Yo, Yugi, what the hell was that about? !"

"I heard... I-I think I heard- "

Another growling scream made it's way through the dungeon. The entire building seemed to shake under the sheer intensity of the sound. The three boys clamped their hands shut over their ears and crouched down to the floor.

"What the hell is happening?!" Jounouchi screamed in between the roars. He was so done with all of this.

Yugi forced himself to get up once the loud screaming finally stopped and he ran as fast as he could to the source of it, ignoring Honda's and Jou's shouts asking what he was planning to do.

As he approached the source, he could hear something other than growls and screams- there was banging on the walls, gunshots and the walls seemed to tremble more and more the closer he got.

He came to a stop in front of a huge room. It had two iron jails on it's back, one of which was opened. The other one had it's rusty bars melted down, liquid iron spreading on the floor beneath.

Yugi's eyes widened at the two dark creatures fighting on the stone walls.

Using their long, sharp claw-like fingers to crawl over the walls, the ghosts were launching themselves at each other. One had bright yellow eyes and a huge golden mouth. A thick liquid was dripping out of it, burning holes into everything it touched. The other one had sharp, pure white eyes and several shiny holes all over it's body. Biting and scratching, they were the source of the hellish screams echoing through the dungeon.

"Yami!" Yugi called out, shivering when the other creature launched itself towards his friend, sharp fangs diving in Yami's neck. Yellow poured from the wound as another deafening scream filled the place.

Several loud bangs followed right after, each shot sending disfigured pieces of dark matter into the air. It was almost like white blood was raining from the ceiling.

The injured ghost roared, making the entire dungeon tremble under it's pained sounds. Yugi finally realized that the holes all over the creature's body weren't natural, and rather bleeding wounds from being shot over and over again. Who was doing that?! Where the hell were they?

Enraged eyes turned away from Yami and focused in a certain point on the ground. Yugi followed the gaze and gasped in horror.

A wounded Kaiba was laying on a pool of thick, dark red liquid, blue eyes fazed in pain. A hand was wrapped tightly over his abdomen, barely covering the three deep cuts in his flesh. His other trembling hand was stretched out in the air, holding a gun as if his life depended on it. He was still attempting to fire at the creature, but instead of deafening shots, only soft clicks emanated from the weapon.

The enraged spirit gave Yami a last slash to his face, throwing the smaller ghost across the room. He was smashed against a wall and melted down completely, leaving only the tiny translucent form of Yami behind. When was he able to switch between forms?

Yugi was rooted on a place, unable to get closer and try to help them, he had no idea how to. Yami was immobile, Kaiba was bleeding his guts out, he could see a small black-haired child trapped inside the one jail that wasn't melted down and the shock was so big that he couldn't move.

The disgusting white yet black form approached Kaiba with a sly smile on it's disfigured face. The CEO was fighting for air on the ground, empty eyes looking up, blood dripping down his chin.

"YUGI!"

He snapped out of it once Jou's voice filled his ears. Jounouchi and Honda were looking for him, he knew it from their calls. But he couldn't go back now. He had to do something, or he'd see Kaiba die in front of his eyes. Grabbing the first thing he could reach, which turned out to be a turned metallic briefcase sitting close to the wall, he ran to the creature and launched the object as hard as he could.

It didn't fly as far as he wanted.

The case hit the ghost's lower jaw, opening and releasing several rare cards to the ground. A golden item also fell from it's insides and landed right next to Kaiba. He looked at it, still fighting to breathe.

Yugi's eyes widened and he ran away screaming when the disfigured spirit turned to him, ready to kill. He disappeared into the corridor and the monster followed, enraged beyond reason. They disappeared into the darkness.

Seto carefully took the item beside into his hands, blurred blue eyes gazing at the tiny, translucent form across the room. Dropping the gun he had into a death grip, he held the pyramid with tender hands before taking a painful deep breath and throwing it as far as he could.

It landed right in front of Yami.

After some uncertain minutes, a bright light emanated from the Eye in the Puzzle. The light enveloped the frail, transparent shape.

Red eyes opened once again.

With a teary smile, Seto finally allowed himself to fall into unconsciousness.

* * *

"JOUNOUCHI-KUN, HONDA-KUN, RUN! RUN!" Yugi screamed out at the worried boys that ran in his direction.

"What?" Jou called out, confused brown eyes warming when he saw that his small friend was safe and widening once said friend ran right past him.

"Yugi?" Honda asked, turning back to see a huge amorphous monster crawling in their direction. Fast.

He let out a shrieking scream and was soon followed by Jou as they ran deeper into the dungeon behind Yugi in search of the exit.

* * *

Warm. It was so warm. Warmer than he had felt in a long while now.

Nuzzling the source of such a pleasing heat, Seto realized it smelled like a weird, spicy smoke. A wave of child-like happiness and nostalgia filled him to the core and he buried his face on the soft, goo-like thing enveloped around him. He felt so safe. Like nothing could ever harm him while he was like this. Such a old... odd feeling.

He was so happy.

A loud purring tickled his body and forced his eyes to open up. Darkness was all around him. So comforting. But not nearly as pleasing as the beautiful golden eyes right above, the silly, toothed smile that he remembered oh so fondly from long ago.

"Yami..." He muttered, moving to touch the three deep cuts in his abdomen and realizing with no surprise that they were nowhere to be seen. With a soft laugh, he pushed the ghost away so he could get up. He was immediately stricken down once again by a dark-haired silhouette.

"Nii-sama!"

"Mokuba..." Seto forced out, breathless. Putting his arms around the small, trembling frame, he sighed loudly in relief.

Their spirit made happy bubbling sounds at the sight. Yami then wrapped himself around the two brothers in a warm embrace, sadly being interrupted by loud screams coming out of the dungeon.

The spirit immediately recognized Yugi's scream in the cacophony of sounds and stood upright. Kaiba, now completely healed, soon followed, putting Mokuba down.

He looked up into Yami's worried yellow eyes and sighed.

"Go." He muttered. His ghost turned to him with a puzzled expression.

Kaiba held the Puzzle that was hanging from his neck, presumably put there by Yami himself and took it out, handing it to his spirit. Turning his back to Yami, the CEO said once again…

"Go. I'll take care of Mokuba and take him to the helicopter outside. The old man's soul has been released as well so we have nothing to do here. If you aren't there in less than half an hour, I'll go back after you. So go. Don't waste any time."

Yami let out a huge golden smile and dashed to the dungeon, following the signals his friend was sending him. He grasped the Puzzle in a tight grip as he crawled through the corridors.

* * *

"Yugi!" Jounouchi called out. The smaller teen was flinching as he tried to keep running, too tired to keep up with the former gangster. Swearing under his breath, the blonde slowed up his pace, grabbed Yugi by the torso and shoved him on his back. Yugi instinctively grabbed onto him, too tired to do anything else.

Honda was right beside them, frustrated with how Yugi's extra weight had slowed Jou down a considerable amount. The ghost was still chasing them down and they weren't going to escape in this pace. They were all going to die.

Desperate, he thought of the only chance they could have in this situation and made a sharp curve to the left, hoping that Jounouchi would have enough stamina to follow him back to the Paradox brothers. These guys- or at least the doors Kyu and Mei were their only choice.

Jou let out a loud, sharp gasp behind him and Honda found himself wondering how long they would last. A flash of orange and green passed by his field of vision and he made a sudden stop, entering that corridor. An exhausted Jounouchi soon followed, collapsing against a wall and letting Yugi go.

They heard a loud roar just some corridors away.

"C'mon, Jounouchi!" Screamed Honda, shaking his partner around. Puffing, Yugi opened his eyes and slowly got up, looking around in a confused daze. With a slap, Hiroto managed to catch Jou's attention and the blond got up on trembling legs.

"Honda-kun! We can use these doors to our advantage!" Yugi whispered. "That monster kept clashing against the walls and losing sight of us. He has never been in this labyrinth at all and if we can trick him into coming here, we can use these to knock him out!" The boy continued, excitedly testing out the doors.

"That's what I thought." Honda exhaled, trying to keep Jou up. The roar was now right beside their ears.

"We have to think quick." Jounouchi pointed out, moving towards the doors. Yugi bravely stood in front of him.

"I know I know what to do."

* * *

The ghost with white eyes was struggling to run through the corridors with his enormous size. Knocking entire walls down, he was finally able to smell the annoying teenagers he was out to rip into pieces.

A earthshaking roar was emitted from his throat, when he localized a small, tricolor haired boy fallen on the ground. He trotted to the small body, ready to pierce his dagger-like teeth on flesh when the teen suddenly stood up and ran.

" _ **You're not getting away from me!**_ " The amorphous form screamed, now running after the infuriating human. How _dare_ this kid attack him like that? He'll make sure to break every single one of his bones and rip them apart once he gets his hands on him-

Yugi made a sharp turn on a corridor, soon being followed by the melting spirit. As soon as Yugi passed by the second door, Jounouchi kicked it open from the inside. The ghost slammed right onto it, his screams of pain making the entire place shake.

Honda opened the first door right when he heard the scream, squishing the lower part of the monster's body against a wall. It screeched again, dazed and furious. The three teens started to run away from the thing, hoping that it's injuries would slow it down enough for them to escape.

But they miscalculated their plan. Three thick tentacles wrapped around them, pushing them right back. The ghost was seeing red as it shoved Yugi's small body into it's toothed mouth.

Before Yugi could hit the acidic white liquid, something cut the tentacle holding him in half. Screeches filled the corridors as white blood spread everywhere, making the evil spirit look almost gray in nature. Yami was there, open mouth agape as he roared with anger at the ghost under him.

Noticing the golden pyramid on Yami's chest, the other spirit laughed.

" _ **Oh, so you finally got the source of your power back. Maybe now you'll be somewhat of a challenge."**_

A huge, toothed smirk opened on the white ghost's face.

" _ **Yami no Game."**_

* * *

"Yami is taking way too long." Seto forced out, stressed at this entire situation.

"C'mon big bro, it's been ten minutes. Have faith in him!" Mokuba tried, hoping to cheer his brother up. Seto seemed to relax for a bit, but then tensed up once again and started walking in circles.

"Big bro…" Mokuba tried again. "Yami will definitely warn you through your link if he needs help, ok? Please stop worrying…"

"You're right…" Muttered Kaiba. He was about to go back to the helicopter when a _huge_ wave of pain hit him fast and hard. His eyes widened and he immediately rushed back inside the castle, ignoring Mokuba calling his name right behind him. He reloaded his gun on the way, ready to kill off whatever had troubled his precious ghost.

* * *

The panting CEO finally arrived to the place where Yami's overwhelming waves of pain were coming from. Blue eyes got impossibly wide when Kaiba finally found his spirit.

There was a battlefield in the long, stone corridor. Yami had his adored Dark Magician by his side and two facedown cards. His opponent had the Man-Eater Bug on attack mode by his side, no trap cards. Judging by the look on his face, Yami was about to deliver the final blow.

Seto noticed that his spirit was back to his smaller, human-like form, red eyes shining with rage. He looked…. Almost solid. Looking around, Seto could find the blonde and the other friend around, but… no Yugi.

Rage quickly began to grow in Kaiba's chest, but he controlled himself. Yami was in danger. That was his priority right now.

" _You are cheating, Bakura!"_ Yami screamed at the white haired teen on the other side of the duel field. There seemed to be something weird about him. He had large, scared brown eyes and was struggling and shaking his head. Squinting, Seto soon found out what the heck was wrong with the teen's figure…

There seemed to be a disfigured ghost right behind the brown-eyed boy. It let out a horrible, white smile.

" _ **I'm not committing the same mistake from Monster World, Pharaoh. Attack and kill us both or be devoured by the shadows. Your choice."**_

A maniac laughter filled the corridors, as if the spirit knew that he had this victory in the bag. Yami was flinching, and Kaiba knew that he wouldn't attack just from the look on his face. Dark, ominous shadows were crippling up his lover's ankles and rising up, grasping them in a tight grip. The fiery red eyes soon got blurred with pain. He seemed so defeated, uncannily staring onto space and moving his mouth as if he was speaking with some invisible entity and discussing what would happen to him, what he should do in such a situation.

 _Yugi._

That made it for Seto, and he grasped the gun on his belt.

Screeches of pure pain filled the dungeon, mixed with frail human screams. Seto suddenly found himself being constrained. Enraged, he realized that the blonde and the other guy had him in a tight lock, so he fought violently to be released and to keep shooting the spirit behind that white haired kid.

Yami was now looking at him with wide red eyes that filled up once again with determination. He soon realized that he was now free from the shadows grasping his feet and ran towards Bakura, fighting with the injured monster for Ryou's unconscious body. He was sure that Kaiba had accidentally shot Ryou's arm at least once, so he had to get a hold of him and _fast._

Too wounded to fight back, Bakura lost his host's body as soon as Jounouchi and Honda joined in to pull Ryou away. While the two took the white-haired teen somewhere safe, Yami left Yugi's body and took the Puzzle back from the dizzy teen. Looking at each other, they nodded in sync and Yugi immediately went back to help Ryou out. Yami quickly enveloped his body with darkness, turning yellow in coloration and growing exponentially in size while Bakura was still fighting to take the bullets out of his body.

With a ferocious bite, he was sure that he got the other spirit in a death hold. Bakura's claws where digging on his sides, drawing out precious yellow blood and making Yami whimper in pain as he applied more force on the other's neck.

His eyes shot wide open when he heard Seto's gun shooting again and again. He apparently didn't want Bakura to leave this palace alive.

Soon, the bigger ghost stopped fighting and melted down in a pool of black and white. Yami fell onto it, exhausted beyond reason and mixing yellow blood on the gooey pool. Kaiba was on his side almost immediately, holding onto his side and whispering comforting words on his ear.

" _ **I'm sorry…"**_ Whispered the ghost, in a breathy manner. Seto held him even closer.

"Sorry for what ...?"

" _ **Bakura... I didn't... mention him before. I was… hanging out with Yugi and his new friend once, and he appeared and tried to kill us."**_

Coldness filled Seto's body entirely.

"You knew him? Before that, even? He looked... uncannily similar to you."

Yami looked down.

" _ **I… don't... know… I don't... remember…"**_

Caressing his lover's body, Seto buried his face on Yami's hair.

"It's ok."

They stayed like that for some minutes before finally deciding to go back to the helicopter. As they were getting up, though, Yami realized that he was stuck under the pool of goo under his claws.

" _ **S-Seto! Get away from here!"**_ He screeched, trying to pull himself out by attempting to go back to his translucent form. It didn't work. Kaiba let out a gasp and immediately fell onto his knees to help his ghost out but it was in vain. In his despair, he kicked something in the pool of white and black. Turning around to look at it, he saw a circular object with a glowing eye in the middle of it.

Grasping it with both hands, he attempted to throw it far away but it teleported right back, glued to Yami's body. He was about to pull it out when smoke was gushed out of the Eye, filling and growing inside the room. It took form, morphing into a huge beast with red eyes and a strong, muscled body. It grew until the ceiling was threatening to fall over their heads.

A clawed hand gripped Yami's body as if he was a soft, rubber toy.

" **So we meet again, Pharaoh… breaking the rules of a shadow game, having your little lover kill off my most loyal servant for you, because you couldn't erase a simple host. You must have been dying to see me."**

A horrifying sound echoed around the room. The creature was laughing. His long, pointed claws buried into the soft darkness enveloping Yami's true form, making yellow droplets fall out in a calm, excruciating pace. Seto was so horrified he couldn't move. This creature… it made the entire room bow for it. It felt like he was facing a God.

" **It falls for me, the duty to punish you. You seem to enjoy suffering at my hands, I can't wait for the day when your little Ryou Bakura friend will make us the perfect battlefield…"**

Yami was trying to scream, but no sound came out of his mouth. Gold was gushing out of his wounds now. It fell through the creature's arm, and the thing leisurely licked it out with pleasure. Seto could only watch with terrified blue eyes as he heard Yami's insides being squished and heard his blood forming a pool on the ground.

" **I'll defeat you once and for all and win back my freedom… I'll bring chaos into the world and torture you for as long as I can. What you're feeling right now is** _ **nothing**_ **, Pharaoh. Just wait until I've got my** _ **real**_ **hands on you… it'll be just like the good old times."**

The creature's deafening laughter filled the place once again. It leaned close to Yami's ear, yellow eyes tainted with pure pain.

" **I can't wait to feel your bones cracking under my hands once agai-"**

The God of Darkness looked down, several tiny holes disfiguring his face. He let out a loud, hearty laugh, pressing more on Yami's body and making the spirit finally screech out in pain.

"STOP!" Kaiba screamed at him, still firing his now bullet-less gun. _"STOP!"_

Ignoring the CEO, the creature looked down at Yami once again, noticing that there was gold everywhere, falling from the spirit's gaping mouth, the wounds, descending down his arm. With a smirk, he closed his hand a last time, feeling his fingers completely trespass the dark flesh and appear on the other side. A terrified scream came from the teen that was still trying to shot at him, apparently not knowing what else to do.

Allowing the empty, dark vessel to fall down to the yellow pool on the ground, he looked at it one last time before turning into smoke once again.

" **I can wait to meet you again, Pharaoh…"**

The monster's laughter was still echoing in Seto's ears long after the creature was gone, leaving the CEO alone to sob on the pool of his lover's blood.

Kaiba was desperately trying to push it back inside the dark vessel, but, just like last time, it was completely in vain. He feel onto the still warm, thick pool, devastated and trying to hold as much gold as he could closer to him.

Minutes passed like hours, but soon, Seto opened his reddened blue eyes as he noticed the gold starting to thicken more and more.

He let out a surprised gasp when it came all flooding to him, slowly but surely, taking form on his arms.

He held all of it as if his life depended on it, and soon a trembling, weak Yami was hiding his translucent face on his chest.

Realizations came flooding into Kaiba's mind. The yellow… the yellow blood, the yellow eyes, the mouth… it was all the very incarnation of his lover's soul. The dark body was only a protective layer of darkness, a vessel, something to keep him from getting hurt in his most fragile form. When Yami was translucent, he was vulnerable... He was weak. When Yami possessed Yugi…

Seto gripped him into his arms even tighter, making the spirit weep. He got up in trembling legs, holding Yami in his arms. It felt like carrying air, he was so light.

He looked one last time at the corridor, which was almost collapsing over their heads, and clumsily ran away after grabbing the Puzzle from the ground and placing it back where it belonged- around his neck. Yami was still trembling in his arms all the way to the helicopter.

* * *

"Nii-sama!" Exclaimed Mokuba as soon as he arrived. He had those huge, gray puppy eyes on and Seto immediately knew that he wanted to ask something but ignored it for the time being.

"I need a blanket. Bring me a blanket." He muttered, and Mokie apparently was going to object before he saw Yami in his arms. Sickly pale, unfocused red eyes looking at nothingness.

He immediately shut his mouth and went to the helicopter, screaming at someone inside. Seto didn't care. He just stood there, beside them, grasping Yami tightly and caressing his ghostly hair. He could almost feel it. It was like each time he possessed Yugi, the more he could feel more like an… actual human being. Almost corporeal. Almost there.

He laid a kiss on the small, thin forehead. It felt weirdly warm on his lips. As if he kissed a really, really thin layer of skin.

Mokuba returned with a big, thick blanket on his arms and they both carefully wrapped Yami in it. The spirit buried his head on the fur, his quick, terrified breaths calming down. Seto picked him up, Yami cuddling against his warmth. He entered the helicopter before Mokuba could say anything else, ignored the nerd herd inside, and stepped in front of the flywheel. Mokie and all of the gang started asking several questions, especially Yugi and Anzu, but he had just too much for the day and just-

" _SHUT THE FUCK UP. I DON'T CARE."_

Everyone went silent. Yami was still trembling on his arms as he turned the engines on.

The vibrations seemed to soothe him. The CEO held him closer, laying soft, love-filled kisses all over his face. Yami let out a soft breath, feasting on his scent.

As the helicopter started flying, Seto asked Mokuba to bring him something Yami wasn't able to identify while all wrapped up in fuzziness and in Seto's warmth. Soon, though, something sweet was placed over his lips. Dazed red eyes opened to see what it was.

A cookie.

He brought frail, thin hands to grab the delicious treat and savored it as Seto observed with a teary smile. As soon as Yami was finished, he fell into a peaceful slumber on Seto's chest, feeling protected and healed.

"I'll take care of you, I promise." Seto whispered to him as they fled through the oceans, the sky painted in orange, yellow and blue.

"We'll go home and everything will be ok, I'll never let anyone hurt you like this ever again." He whispered against Yami's head and felt a soft, wind-like kiss on his neck as a response. He held his lover with an arm and the flywheel with another, feeling suddenly at peace. Pegasus was gone, Bakura was gone, that freaky ring-like object was lost in the dungeon, and they were free to do whatever they want. They'll go home and spend the entire day on the bed, dueling and eating snacks until they recover from this awful day. He was going to make sure of it.

Looking at the peaceful, sleeping form wrapped up on his lap, Seto felt the most wonderful sensation of relief since he saw that Yami hadn't died so many months ago. They were safe. Yami was safe. Mokie was back.

He let out a deep sigh and then rushed forwards through the ocean. The helicopter disappeared in the sky of pink and blue, as the crew and the brothers went home.

* * *

 **I really hope you've all enjoyed this, I plan to finish it entirely soon. We still have Battle City and Millennium World to go, so hold onto your horses, because I still love this fic and I won't leave it unfinished. Please comment if you like it though, so I won't take as long as I did to update it this time! And even if you don't, I still love everyone that enjoyed my fic. But I'd really like if you let me know, I don't bite S2.**

 **Again, especial thanks to the visitor Rhyfedd. I really appreciated your support!**


	17. Tablet of Memories

**I had to cut the Battle City Arc in two, it was too big to fit in a single chapter, but I hope that you all enjoy it anyways! :')**

 **Warnings: Sexual Intercourse. Yes, they can barely spend a chapter without touching each other can they.**

* * *

"Nii-sama, don't you think that this exposition is really cool?" Mokuba called out. He was laying upside down on the sofa, rubbing his feet over the soft green fabric.

Kaiba took a sip of coffee, savoring the bitter taste and the warm, characteristic smell. Yami was cuddled up next to him, sorting out cards for his deck. The CEO caressed the thin, warm skin. Seto soon found himself wondering if Yami would ever be able to be fully corporeal.

The CEO licked his lips before startling Yami with a kiss to the neck, nibbling on him.

" _Nii-sama!"_ Mokuba scolded, turning bright red. "That's so weird, stop!"

Groaning, Kaiba stopped his ministrations. Looking over to the TV, he analyzed the artifacts being presented and turned his nose at them. Mokuba pouted at him.

"C'mon Nii-sama, they're cool! Most of these are over 3000 years old, it's insane!"

Yami was now watching the program as well, red eyes shining with excitement. He poked Seto with his elbow, smiling at the taller teen.

" _I actually think that this is interesting too! It reminds me of my Puzzle."_ The ghost whispered the last phrase, wavering between being invisible and see-through. Kaiba laughed, shaking his head.

"You two are weird. What is so interesting about old bones? It won't affect our future in any ways, it's a waste of time."

Mokuba pouted even harder at these words.

"Well, at least I'm not dating a ghost." He muttered. "It's not a bad looking ghost but how does that even work, and I'm the weird one, yes, of course…"

"Stop muttering at me." Kaiba scolded. Yami was laughing beside him... Mokuba wasn't exactly good at discretely admonishing his brother. Mokie opted to stick his tongue out at them.

The ghost giggled one last time before closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. He was so happy and satisfied. It had been roughly a month since the Duelist Kingdom happenings. They had been doing fine since then. They brought Ryou to a hospital and he was recovering well. Yami wanted to visit but Seto was still very hesitant about allowing him to go around on his own... especially after the thing dwelling inside Ryou's Ring attacked him.

But to his surprise, Kaiba had been way more relaxed about letting him see the crew and Yugi without... his presence. It may be because Jounouchi annoyed him to no end, but. Yami was still grateful that he could go around on his own and have fun with his friends.

...Even if Seto would be extra clingy and affectionate every time he came back home.

Solomon seemed to be doing very well after he got his soul back. Yugi even came to the mansion several times to thank Yami (and Seto) for the help! Even though Kaiba wasn't exactly the most polite towards him. Yugi was still satisfied and adoring the extra time he was being allowed to have with Yami. The poor ghost couldn't decide if this was a nice change, though. Because Seto was very nonchalant towards him every time Yugi was around. Almost if he was still jealous, but... trying to suppress it by taking Mokuba out whenever Yami asked if Yugi could come over. It was borderline frustrating, and yet. Just how Seto is. The spirit couldn't wait for the day when he'd accept that he had more friends now. All he wanted was for Yugi and Seto to get along…

"Are you ok?"

Yami looked up to Kaiba, letting out a soft laugh when he saw the blue eyes littered with worry.

" _Yeah."_ He said, getting cozier inside the warm, furry blanket Seto had wrapped around him. He loved the feeling. But he still supposed that it would feel much better if he had an actual body to experience it with.

"You don't look like it…" The CEO stated, looming over the spirit. "Maybe we should go in that stupid exposition after all. Some hours looking at dump prehistoric rocks shouldn't hurt."

" _I'm fine, Aibou."_ Yami repeated once again, gleefully sticking his head under Seto's neck. He loved the warmth oh, so much.

Seto caressed him with tender strokes. Mokuba immediately made disgusted sounds at them once again.

"Get a room!"

"We are in a room."

" _Shut up you two. Seto, did you mean what you said? I'd love to go take a walk in the museum,_ _maybe_ _we'll get to know a bit more about where the Puzzle came from and what it was for. Besides. Well. The inscriptions on it of course."_ Yami said, giggling. He was so happy he couldn't help his laughter.

Messing up the tricolor hair, Kaiba shrugged at him.

"Of course, why not? It's been an while since we've been out. You should hide in the Puzzle during it though, we don't want to freak people out." A sly smile appeared on the blue-eyed man's face.

"I mean, unless you want to be a scarf again, I wouldn't complain-"

" _NO_." Yami stated vehemently, making Kaiba laugh. _"You know that I don't like to use my darkness vessel unless completely necessary."_ Scrunching up his nose, he gave Seto a push on the shoulder. _"You ass."_

The three soon started to playfully bicker with each other... unaware of the two piercing blue eyes watching them from the television. The black haired woman smiled. It was satisfying to know that she wouldn't have to force the Kaibas out of hiding to tell them what they needed to hear.

* * *

It was a clear, star-filled night. Yami was floating around the limousine in an excited manner, drinking up the lights of the city, the people passing around, the other automobiles. Since they had left the orphanage, he never had much of a chance to look around these new surroundings. He was always stuck in the mansion, and in the rare times he was allowed out he would be tightly wrapped around Seto's neck for camouflage. He couldn't see much of anything back then and now all the lights and the movements had him overwhelmed.

Seto was sipping some wine on the back of the vehicle, comfortable on the red leather seats. Mokuba was stuffing his face with candy and making faces at the people outside. Whoever stared at the white limo with awe, to be exact.

Yami wondered what was the fun in that, considering that no one could see him anyways.

It was a long ride, so the ghost found some time to train his solidification skills. Especially playing around trying to hold little objects or 'feeling' Seto around. The CEO was playfully pushing him away by the time they arrived at the museum. Yami hesitated before letting himself be pulled back into the Puzzle, disappearing inside the golden walls. Seto hanged the pyramid around his neck, enjoying the familiar weight. He caressed the jewel tenderly as he and Mokie walked in the museum, the smaller boy trotting his way in.

The exposition was beautifully crafted. Artifacts of all shapes and sizes spread through the corridors, behind tall glass walls. Mokuba was bubbling about them, running from one place to another and jumping around. Seto was looking at them with close to no interest, until the two mummies in display caught his attention. He felt a weird pain inside his chest.

One of them was tall and frail, notably older and bigger than the small one right beside it. They died roughly in the same era, but the tiny, young mummy seems to have met it's doom first. The CEO stood there for quite an while, staring at the signs over the glass with a bit of nervousness. They had information on the two corpses- estimated date of death, estimated age, estimated last meal. Estimations.

He was especially interested in the fact that they didn't have much of an idea of how the small mummy died. It was buried in the same place as the bigger mummy- on top of it, actually, despise being almost eighty years older. No one knew why. No one knew how. But it was badly burned, several parts of it crushed by... something. Way too many of it's bones unusually broken, almost as in a pattern. Strange marks all over the body. No one could pinpoint exactly what happened.

The most accepted theory was the torture one, yet, it wasn't very likely. This was the mummy of a young Pharaoh, and it was buried with extreme care and worry. It had a more elaborate and detailed sarcophagus than the bigger mummy. Better enchantments and adornments overall. If the boy was kidnapped and tortured before dying... his body very probably wouldn't have been found. Much less mummified. What was it then? Betrayal? Sacrifice?

"Nii-sama?" Mokie's nervous tone broke Seto from his musings. He backed away from the cold glass walls, realizing that he got closer to the dead bodies as he wondered about them. "Can we go further? The mummies make me feel... kinda weird." Mokie pointed out, nervously looking at the beings behind the glass. "Of course." Kaiba immediately answered. He was now examining the bigger mummy. It wasn't as puzzling as the other one, no mysterious marks, no intriguing death. Just old age... and being buried under a teen that was killed decades before his death.

"Nii-sama... let's go, please..." Mokuba pleaded, already backing away. Seto nodded one last time before finally complying. The Puzzle felt weirdly cold against his chest.

After an while of admiring the astounding ancient furniture and all the weapons, jewelry and the liking, Seto and Mokuba found themselves in front of several rock tablets. They were all engraved with drawings.

He was admiring an especially detailed drawing of a dragon... or something similar to it when steps echoed behind him. Seto turned around, ice cold eyes burning holes on the sudden appearance. It was a young woman who had deep blue eyes. White cloth was wrapped all around her tanned body, kept in place by graceful golden jewelry. She had armbands, gold around her hips and legs, an uncannily familiar collar decorating her neck. Kaiba swallowed dry at the Eye in the jewel, grasping his Puzzle in a tight hold. This couldn't mean anything good.

"Enjoying our exposition? I knew it would be from your liking..." The Eye over her neck glimmered at the words.

"I'm not interested in all of this old trash. Why my little brother wants to see things that do nothing but waste the time of thousands of people that could be helping humanity grow instead is beyond me." He spat, knowing that Mokie was blushing brightly behind him. Mokuba knew his opinions on anything related to the past for years. He wasn't too worried about hurting his feelings.

"You seemed awfully interested in our mummies back there." Kaiba's lips formed a tight, thin line. A gracious smile spread over the woman's face.

"You know, these two weren't supposed to be in the exposition to begin with. We found them miles away from all of the other artifacts, buried in a small, plain room underground. But we decided to bring them along. It's likely that they were the owners- or at least one of the owners these artifacts once had. It's hard to tell anything about them, the small one especially. But we have a strong suspicion that they might have something to do with you and…"

The sharp blue eyes seemed to shine with mischief.

"The golden artifact you've got with you right there…"

"SHUT UP!" Kaiba cried out, forgetting completely about courtesy. "The past is nothing but steps in the sand behind us! It will NOT change our future and I am NOT interested in whatever nonsense you're talking about, I do NOT want to hear!"

The Puzzle felt hot against his chest. Mokuba shrunk behind him, worried about where this was going. The museum was dead silent.

The lady's honestly _frustrating_ smile appeared on her face once again.

"You don't want to hear, but I'm sure you want to _see_. I have something very important to show you, . And it'll make these puny drawings of duel monsters seem like nothing in comparison. Follow me, and you'll _see._ "

She disappeared into one of the corridors.

Kaiba clenched his fists, Mokie hesitated before approaching him from behind.

"Nii-sama…?"

"Not now, Mokuba. Let's see what's so important for her to show us." The CEO answered in a dark, husky tone that send shivers down the smaller Kaiba's spine. Mokuba wasn't sure at all about everything that was going on. Did it have something to do with Yami? What was all of this about?

They walked behind the woman through the corridors. It was an awkward, long silence until they reached a dead end. It was a tall wall with a huge stone tablet hanging up on it, behind protective glass. Lights illuminated every single engraving. Mokie's breath got caught into his throat.

"Ni-Nii-sama!"

He pointed to the drawing, and looked to the frozen Kaiba besides him. Seto had widened eyes, a gaping mouth and his hands were gripping the Puzzle so hard Mokuba was afraid they'd bleed.

"This is the Tablet of Memories." The lady announced, satisfied with the reactions.

"That's-"

" _Yami."_ Seto spit out, glaring daggers on the woman's eyes. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Take a closer look." She shrugged.

And Seto did exactly that. He looked into it, and the more he did it, the more and more terrified he got.

There was Yami's favorite magician.

His Blue Eyes White Dragon...

And an eerie figure wearing Priest clothing, which he couldn't properly identify but... the only one who could control the Blue Eyes out of Yami was… _himself._

And the feeling. The dammed feeling of having seen this awful thing before. He felt as if this tablet was familiar and he loathed it, he loathed every single hieroglyphic written on it. He immediately started internally pointing out flaws in the thing, realizing how much improvement could have been made by the author. How some things were out of proportion. How fucking disrespectful it was to portray a pharaoh smaller than a Priest. Mokuba had told him about stupid Egyptian culture and how people were supposed to ALWAYS be smaller than the Pharaoh, regardless of his height. He never listened a lot and couldn't care less, but it was really, _really_ important to him all of a sudden. He didn't care if it was accurate to the Pharaoh's actual height and probably a very important finding to Egyptologists and archaeologists in general. The person who made this was a bitch.

"You seem angry."

The black-haired woman had that despicable knowing look back on her face. And that smile.

"Whoever made this did an awful job. The Pharaoh should be way bigger."

Laugher echoed across the corridors. The girl pushed some stray locks of hair back behind her ear.

"The person who made this, was _you_. _Your_ ancestor, and _your_ original form before reincarnating."

Both Kaibas stared at her as if she was insane.

Her smile only grew.

"He was heartbroken after his king's, and close friend's death. He felt guilty and responsible. The weight of being the Pharaoh's successor because the kid just did not have time to have any heirs struck him bad. This tablet-" She made a fluent gesture to it, smile never wavering, "Was a gift. A tribute. A symbol of friendship meant to travel through the hardships of time. Meant to make it to the Pharaoh once he awoke from his slumber and came back to face his enemy once again. This tablet is an agreement to stay by his Pharaoh's side and fight with him. It's a promise of loyalty and faith."

Crossing her arms, she continued…

"I'm guessing that the Priest didn't expect to reincarnate in such a skeptical, narrow minded person."

"SHUT UP!" Kaiba snapped once again, enraged. The woman didn't flinch. How could someone be THIS infuriating?

"Stop saying such nonsense, whatever you're blabbering about does not exist. I can deal with ghosts and magic and whatever dumb things happened with me throughout my life but _reincarnation_? Shut up. Just. Shut the hell up." Kaiba was panting now, a hand tangled on his locks of brown hair. He let out several deep sighs to calm down and recomposed himself. Closing his eyes before opening the determined ocean-colored gems once again and turning his back on the annoying girl.

"We're leaving. Come, Mokuba." He started walking before even finishing the sentence.

Mokie was torn, looking between his brother's back and the lady that was giving him a nice smile. He couldn't even get a good look on the tablet, his brother just skimmed over the thing. It was like he had seen it dozens of thousands of times, then got livid and left. He wanted to stay. He wanted to _see_.

What if this was explaining Yami's story? Where he came from, and where he should go to instead of being a deranged soul for the end of time. What if this had the ways Yami could go back to his family written in it? What if this had his real name, his real past ? What if this had Yami's history before he ended up in the orphanage? A history that Mokuba wishes he had for himself, considering that he couldn't remember much about his life before that either. He couldn't take that luxury away from Yami because Seto was too terrified to let him go.

A soft, warm hand settled over his shoulder.

"Kaiba." Mokuba heard the woman speak once again. "I have one last thing that may be of interest…"

With a flourished move, she pulled a small wooden box from the insides of her long, silk clothing. Then handed it to Mokuba, who eyed it with intense eyes. Kaiba immediately turned back, ice-like blue eyes craving on the container.

" _What. Is. That."_ He whispered, impossibly done with the situation. Mokie shivered and handed it to him. The CEO opened it and gasped at the beautiful, metallic card inside.

The words "Obelisk, the Tormentor" caught his attention. He could pinpoint the similarities between the buff, rock-like blue monster and one of the three Gods being represented in that awfully inaccurate tablet almost instantly.

"What is this thing?" He asked a bit more calmly now, drinking up the 4000 points of attack and defense like a drowning man. His eyes immediately lit up with the _raw power_ of the card, his knees almost felt weak with the sight. The woman smiled.

"Do you want it?"

Kaiba could feel Yami humming inside his head. He realized that the humming had been happening during the entirety of the visit in the museum. It was very calm, soothing, and… very strange. Why was Yami doing that? He never did such a thing before…

The CEO's thoughts dissolved as he felt the Puzzle burning hot against his chest. The humming getting louder. A smile grew on his face, mirroring the one in the black-haired lady in front of him.

"Yes." He muttered, grip tightening around the box.

The woman's smile was large and knowing.

"I'll trade this God Card for a favor. You'll throw a tournament in Domino City, where people bet their rarest cards as a prize for winning the duel." Seeing Kaiba's non amused face, she continued:

"There are _three_ God Cards in total. The Winged Dragon of Ra, Obelisk the Tormentor and The Saint Dragon of Osírís, also known as Slifer, the Sky Dragon. Two of these are owned by the criminal organization of the Ghouls, I'm assuming you know who they are."

Kaiba nodded in concordance. Yes, he knew and very well. He had started to add cameras for surveillance after the traffic and stealing of cards had increased in _his_ city and found out more than he ever expected to know about the international organization of scumbags.

"The tournament will attract them out of hiding, I want you to win the God Cards for me so I can put them back in a safe place." The woman continued. "I assume that you want all of the God cards, and as long as you keep them somewhere they won't be stolen I'm willing to lend them to you."

Kaiba snorted.

"There is no place safer than the insides of my mansion." He stated, arrogance filling his voice. Mokuba nodded in agreement.

The lady smiled once again before turning her back on the two Kaibas.

"I'll trust you with Obelisk then, Mr. Kaiba." Was the last thing she said before her white tail of clothing disappeared into the museum's corridors.

Seto looked down at the God Card, tracing it's attack points with the tips of his fingers. A translucent, small hand appeared from the corners of his vision and settled on top of his own. Looking up, he saw Yami staring at the monster, red eyes filled with something he couldn't exactly describe. Sorrow? Pain? Whatever it was, it wasn't good.

He pulled the smaller hand into his own, interlacing fingers with the ghost. He was so warm. So, so warm. Almost tangent, almost…. _Almost_ there.

The humming was so loud now, he felt it vibrate through his entire body.

"What are you thinking about?" He whispered to Yami. The spirit traced Obelisk's body before lifting his eyes to the Tablet of Memories.

"I remember. I remember…. A song. When I look at these pictures. When I look at that Priest." Yami whispered, swallowing dry. It's very weird, but… but I heard it in my mind. In a language I don't know."

"Is that why you're humming?" Seto asked in a soft voice, hand set around his lover's shoulders for comfort. Yami nodded, and the soft humming intensified inside Kaiba's mind.

Smiling, the CEO kissed his ghost's forehead. Yami blushed and looked up to him. A strange smell of incense and scented oils was growing and making itself known until it became thick around them. While Yami took in a deep breath, Seto made sounds of disgust and covered his nose. He didn't know why, but he really loathed the scent, no matter how pleasurable it was.

The entire place felt warm and they soon realized... all of the bizarre sensations focused around that dammed Tablet. They had to get away.

Grabbing Mokuba, who was looking at them with an adorable confused face by the arm, Seto ran through the corridors... basically dragging Yami and Mokie around with him. His vision was flashing between the clean, beige walls of the museum and cold, dark stone walls with oiled lamps hanging from them. Endless, endless corridors of stone and oil. He could feel linen around his hands, smell the hated scent of incense and perfume.

The illusion was only broken once he stormed out of the museum's doors, gasping for air. His vision cleared, and he could see the calm, chilly night once again. Isono was staring at him with his mouth agape, and Kaiba realized that him bursting the doors open must've been quite a sight.

With a faint blush blossoming on his cheeks, he forced himself into the white limo. As he entered, he let out a loud sigh of happiness at the nice scent of leather and technology of the car. Yami materialized himself besides him, floating just above the dark red seat. Mokuba stumbled behind them, glaring at his bigger brother.

"What the heck was that? Why did you two get so weird all of a sudden, you really creeped me out staring at the walls like that, Nii-sama! And Yami, what was with the humming, it was so loud! What even is that song anyways, I've never heard that before! What did I even miss?"

The spirit approached the small dark-haired kid and ruffled his hair. It felt like a soft, warm breeze from Mokuba's point of view, but he appreciated the gesture a whole lot.

"I'm really sorry, Little Aibou." Whispered the ghost. "Scaring you wasn't my intent, I couldn't help myself. And that Tablet… that God Card…" Yami continued, staring at the small box in Seto's hands.

"They were just… so overwhelming, I couldn't-"

"Hey… hey Yami, it's ok!" Mokie exclaimed, jumping on the seat next to the spirit. He put his arm around the ghostly shoulders and patted his back. "We're going to be alright and a cool tournament is going to start soon! Maybe when you see Obelisk in action you won't feel so overwhelmed by him, he's in our side!" Mokuba finished his sentence with a hearty laugh, excited for the upcoming duels.

A smile formed on the translucent teen's face, and he returned the pats to the young kid.

"Thank you, Little Aibo."

Seto wrapped his arm around both of them and pressed the two against him, making them laugh. The CEO had a mischievous smile on his face, and Yami couldn't help but shake his head. Whatever happened in this tournament, it would definitely be amazing with Seto by his side.

* * *

The announcement had gone very, very well. Yami could see that Seto had enjoyed appearing in every TV in the city... of course he had. and now they were roaming the city in search for nice tag duels and…

Jounouchi.

Both Yami and Seto had quite the surprise when Yugi came running to them, asking for help. Apparently someone had stolen Jou's most prized card and he was delaying his little sister's eye surgery because of it.

Seto immediately glared hard at Yami, who swallowed dry and looked away. The CEO had been trying to pinpoint where the hell a considerable amount of his money had gone to, even though it was _hardly_ enough to hurt the company. If someone had hacked into his account, he would have been doomed but. No, he was sure it was someone from the inside and Mokuba never spend anything from SETO'S personal account. The spirit felt the blue daggers digging on his back and spurted out that he indeed had helped Jounouchi to bank his sister's surgery, to save the girl's eyesight. Kaiba shook his head to him in disapprovement.

"Next time you decide to be a white knight, _ask._ " The CEO grunted. Yami deflated as he floated behind his aibou. Yugi patted his shoulder, giving him a soft smile.

"Don't listen to him, Yami. You did an amazing thing, Jou-kun is very grateful and Shizuka-kun is not going to lose her vision, it was a beautiful action from you, ok?"

The ghost smiled at the teen.

"Ok." He muttered, getting closer to his look-alike.

The three of them walked through the streets of Domino City, following Kaiba's GPS. It had the location of _everyone_ that was taking part in the tournament via tracking chips in their Duel Disks. Including Jou's, which Kaiba insisted that was stolen.

"The mutt doesn't have enough money to pay for one of these." He'd scoff. Yugi would get really angry and protective, stating that no matter what Kaiba said, Jounouchi got his Duel Disk fair and square. And it was thanks to the event KAIBA himself had made. The one in which duelists with over five stars of skill could get a free Duel Disk.

"The mutt is a two star." Seto replied, restraining himself from getting too violent or snappy in Yami's presence. The spirit was already awkwardly floating between the two of them, trying to protect them from each other. Yami's relationship with both of them was no secret, but Seto still loathed it, and he was sure that Yugi wasn't a big fan either. Kaiba stealing his prized Puzzle seemed to have made quite a number on him. And while Yugi didn't want him _dead_ , Kaiba was sure that the kid wasn't about to invite him to parties anytime soon.

Their mutual glares stopped once they found the person who stole Jounouchi's Red Eyes. Yami pleadingly curled around Seto, asking if he could duel with Yugi for the mutt's card. Seto _did not_ like the idea _**at all**_ but he was so s _ick_ of having to deal with a Yami so transparent he could barely see him while they were in public. So, so tired of having to hide his lover from the world and _dying_ to see the ghost again, fully fleshed and in colors, not as some see-through copy of what he should be.

So he accepted, and Yami was ecstatic as his aibou reluctantly gave out the Puzzle to Yugi, who basically snatched it from Seto's hands. Kaiba watched every second of Yami taking over Yugi's body, feeling his heart skip a beat once they were finished.

Yugi's body would change a great amount once Yami was in control. The purple eyes and hair would turn blood red and Yami would immediately take the jacket off so he could use it as a cape. Seto's heart immediately melted once he realized that his ghost was trying to mimic his trench coat tail, and he let out a soft, happy laugh.

Observing Yami duel while he had a physical form was _amazing._ He utterly _destroyed_ that Ghoul and Kaiba could barely keep himself from letting out several maniacal laughs as he saw that beautiful duel. He could _**feel**_ the adrenaline and the excitement being pumped through his veins, it was like he was born to see Yami's gracious movements and smart thinking. He couldn't stop thinking about how bad he wanted to duel his beloved spirit again.

His fiery desire and the high from all the excitement made him grab Yami by the shoulders once he approached and smash his firm lips on the ghost's warm, soft ones. He started to invade the lovely mouth as Yami held him tenderly and melted in his arms. They stayed like that for a long, delightful minute before the spirit violently pushed him away.

Confused blue eyes looked down before Kaiba started to vigorously wipe his mouth, mirroring Yugi, who was almost puking in disgust right beside him. The purple eyed kid practically launched the Puzzle back to Kaiba while he was furiously wiping his lips. Yami was floating between them shyly, Seto could almost _SWEAR_ that the ghost was bright red from what just happened.

" _Y-Yugi! I'm so sorry!"_ Yami apologized several times, terrified with what he had done. The kid only made a dismissing hand movement, shaking his head. He still seemed a bit green.

"At least ask, Yami. That creped me out, _oh my God."_ Yugi was almost out of breath, squeaking the phrase out. Kaiba was brooding, arms crossed tight across his chest as he looked away with a huge frown.

When the three of them were at least partially recovered, they finally approached Jounouchi... who was staring at them with widened eyes.

The blonde's brown eyes wandered from Kaiba to Yami several times before finally setting on Yugi, from who he gratefully recovered his Red Eyes Black Dragon. Slowly and hesitating a lot, he approached Yami and handed him his prized card. The ghost precariously held onto it, making a great effort to do so. Yami looked up to him with confused red eyes. Jounouchi smiled.

"I'll recover it from ya fair and square one day, friend. Just please don't use my bro to kiss your asshole boyfriend, ok?"

Yami's face DEFINITELY turned red this time as the blonde laughed and ruffled the ghost's hair before wandering off with Yugi behind him. The two waved goodbye and the spirit was barely able to answer, he just wanted to bury himself in a hole and never get out. Seto, however, was standing beside him with pride. The CEO snorted and put his hand around Yami's hip, even though both of them knew that it wasn't necessary at all to keep the ghost close.

Seto caressed his spirit's arm before whispering on his ear that they had to go and find Mokuba before progressing. Yami's redness faded out for a bit and he nodded in concordance, a smile sneaking it's way on his face.

Seto and Yami attempted to track Mokie through Seto's GPS, but soon, found themselves to be unable to. Couldn't this kid keep himself out of trouble?! Exasperated, Kaiba started to check on every alley he could find. He soon remembered that he had given his little brother the task of keeping cheating and violence out of his tournament... and that the kid immediately suggested that it happened more often in alleys and dark corners. He wasn't sure of how Mokuba became familiar with that, but now he was very glad for the information.

The alley they started their search in was humid, not the best place to duel NOR to steal cards.

Kaiba was sure that a delinquent wouldn't care, though.

He examined every inch of the place and interrogated the kid he found sitting in a dark corner. It soon became apparent that whoever took Mokuba's tracking device wasn't the standard bully, but something else.

Out of pure habit, he turned around to walk through Yami and ended up knocking the confused ghost on the pavement. They both stood still, looks of pure unbridled shock on their faces.

"W-What the heck was that?!" Kaiba let out in a gasp, immediately bending down to touch Yami's skin. It was warm, thin, but... tangible. Not like the usual air-like projection Yami relies on.

The CEO let out a suffocated whimper before pulling Yami back up with him. He held the smaller one gently, a hand comfortably set on the spirit's lower back. Unable to hold himself, he started to feel the soft arms, the smooth skin.

Before he could even see it, he had Yami trapped against a wall, kissing the breath out of him. Kissing the small shoulders, the nice neck, those beautiful red eyes.

His ghost seemed just as shocked, frozen solid in his arms. As Seto devoured his neck, Yami couldn't help but snap out of it and start moaning and trembling, fingers digging onto Seto's coat. He could move it. He could... feel it.

 _"So warm... s-so much… w-what is this...?"_ Yami forced out in his overload of pleasure. He wiggled on Seto's grip when the CEO began sneaking his fingers under his "clothes", burning the thin wannabe skin with his warm touches. The spirit was sure that he was going to pass out from this. Somehow.

"I can feel you." The phrase came with Seto's thick, heavy breathing. His hand slithered down Yami's backside, feeling all of it. He soon found the opening he was looking for and started to probe it, teasing to slip in.

The ghost shrieked in Kaiba's arms, flailing around and rubbing himself on Seto's crotch on accident. He instantly froze into place... his aibou was still letting out heavy breaths on top of him, feeling him up, and he could feel a hard, hot bulge between his legs. Yami's mind worked out what it was quite fast and memories flooded his head. He gulped hard.

 _"A-Aibou... we have to-"_ The ghost was sharply cut by a heated kiss. The CEO's deviant finger started to wiggle it's way in dry but Yami struggled and whimpered in pain. Kaiba soon realized that doing this without lube wasn't an option and swore under his breath.

 _"W-what are you doing, oh gods-"_ Yami was whispering out, weak from the sensory overload. Seto was somehow inside him, INSIDE him, and as much as it burned, the sensation felt nostalgic and enjoyable... even though it was the first time he had ever felt such a thing.

He almost felt disappointed when Seto pulled out after several minutes of spreading him and probing, but it had hurt enough for him to not complain.

"We need lube. We need it right _now._ " Kaiba forced out, helping Yami to pull his clothes back on.

"Stay here. You're still see-through and I don't want people freaking out at you. I'll be back in an instant." The CEO was already at the end of the alley when he finished the phrase. Yami was still star struck and now sitting on the floor. He had no idea of what Seto wanted lube for and why he was fingering his insides that way, he was just downright confused and... aroused?

He observed as Seto left the alley and a weird, spinning object fell from the sky and attached to his arm. What the heck was that? The ghost forced himself up immediately, running towards his lover's direction.

Seto was screaming at two masked man, enraged. They were jumping from building to building and seemed to be laughing at the blue-eyed teen. A huge helicopter holding Mokuba hostage via a dangling rope flew behind the ghouls, the kid screaming at his older brother for help.

Yami growled at the sight, dashing over to Seto's side. He was instinctively commanding the Puzzle's darkness to wrap around him so he could be more physical, but stopped himself. And instead, attempted to make himself be more human, colorful and realistic so he wouldn't attract any unwanted attention.

The two of them tracked the masked figures down to the top of a skyscraper. The wind was strong and cold there, so much that Yami had to focus on making his skin thicker and less transparent with magic from the Puzzle. He was overworking himself to an extreme degree, and had to take various deep breaths to keep himself stable. It did pay off wonderfully in tricking the two man, though.

Mistaking him for Yugi, the two ghouls handed him a Duel Disk so they could have a tag team duel for their lives, which both Yami and Seto gladly accepted.

Kaiba couldn't feel happier as he dueled by his lover's side. If only they weren't fighting for Mokuba's safety hundreds of feet above the ground over a glass ceiling with bombs in it... well. It would have been a thousand times more delightful.

Even though he was loving the fiery duel in which he'd back Yami up at every move, Seto still felt insecure. He was no longer the child that would hide behind Yami's comforting form, and the way his spirit would jump in front of him to protect him... wounded his pride, his view of himself as powerful and untouchable, unbeatable.

"Stay out of this, Yami!" He'd bark at the small ghost. _"Aibou..."_ His lover muttered before frowning at him.

 _"We need to stick together, that's the only way we'll win!"_ Kaiba groaned, very stressed out with the situation. These card-stealing bastards were getting the upper hand, and as much as he loathed it, Yami was right. They wouldn't be able to win like this, just wouldn't.

He had to let his Aibou provide defense and attack points, otherwise his own monsters would fail and they'd both fall.

Swallowing down his rage and discomfort, he focused on what was better for both of them and Mokuba.

Joining their forces, they brought in Valkirion, a monster with attack points just below Obelisk... before bringing out the God itself into the field, terrorizing one of their foes into submission and breaking the glass under him, paving the way to his oblivion.

Turns out that he had parachutes. It was something that annoyed Yami to no end, much to Kaiba's amusement. The partners turned to the remaining opponent, excited over the fact that they'd get to see Obelisk in action once again. Having the God in the field made them feel so damn alive, and so united as they fought together for the same goal.

But they never got to see the God deal the final blow.

As if controlled by another being, the ghoul started to make strange movements and to laugh maniacally at the two lovers... while he was terrified just seconds ago. Seto immediately got in front of Yami when the ghoul with empty eyes started trash-talking about getting revenge on "the pharaoh". Kaiba did _not_ like that title being used to refer to Yami. He did not like it a _t all._

And the sheer hate and poison on the man's altered voice was enough to make his blood boil with adrenaline and protectiveness. Apparently the guy had some weird underground home in Egypt where he and his family spend their entire life, but Seto was focusing more on the "torturing and killing the pharaoh after destroying him with Slifer" part. He must not let that happen.

When the mysterious voice who named itself as "Malik" finished it's bloody rant, the masked ghoul fell to the ground, unconscious. Kaiba and Yami went back to the streets to recover Mokuba from a terrified ghoul in the helicopter.

Only when they were sure that the kid was safe that they continued their journey. Trying to find the powerful "God Card wielding" ghoul that Malik dared them to defeat.

* * *

The two found Yugi going to the same place as them- the Domino docks. When the kid learned about what they had to fight against, he happily accepted Yami's possession once again. Seto was getting the impression that Yugi had a great time chilling somewhere while Yami did the dueling thing which. Honestly, kind of aggravated his jealously no matter how much he tried to repress it.

He was busy screaming at Jounouchi- to which Yugi always seemed bound to by the hips, when Yami, in all of his glorious corporeal form found the opponent Malik had teased them about. The spirit started his battle alone while Kaiba was busy fighting Jou about declassifying him from the tournament for entering illegally.

Kaiba was almost getting the blonde to quit- or to punch him in the face- when the realized that Yami was facing a literal God alone, a God just like Obelisk, but one that was now rampaging through the skies, long, powerful body hiding between the clouds.

The Osíris' roar echoed through the city.

The CEO immediately left to look for his ghost and found him on his knees, a desperate look on his face. Kaiba couldn't bear it, and screamed at him to stand up.

It wasn't worthy to knell down like that. It was disgusting, something reserved for the lowest and the lowest weren't worthy of being so important to him.

His barks at Yami's deflated, hopeless form seemed to convince him to stand up, the fire lighting up again behind those beautiful blood-red eyes. Kaiba could almost feel his chest getting swollen with pride as Yami used the ghoul's tactics against him, destroying the man to the core and burning the huge crimson dragon to the ground.

He got Slifer for himself after that duel, and Seto couldn't feel more proud if he tried.

When he approached to give his spirit an affectionate squeeze on the arm, Yugi immediately pushed Yami out and ran to Jounouchi's side. Seto didn't blame him. The kiss thing was absolutely terrifying.

Yami waved at the departure of his friends, melancholic, while Seto sighed with relief. Kaiba finally completed his dueling quota on the streets, letting Mokuba point out whoever he should crush next. Yami went back to being invisible and slept inside the Puzzle to regain his batteries.

Sooner than expected, Kaiba already had all of his mapping cards and directed himself to the local where the finals would take place. He was so damn excited for this, Yami could even feel it himself.

Isono had chosen a wonderful place for the revelation of the final battleground. Seto took the chance to sit down inside the Battle Blimp and rest from the busy week.

He started to ponder about the Tablet and the mummies once again. In an unconscious movement, he touched the Millennium Item that was still hanging from his neck. Since Duelist Kingdom, he refrained from putting the Puzzle inside his briefcase, just… just in case. It was important to keep it around so Yami could stay strong and healthy, and not only that- the jewelry often reacted accordingly to how his ghost was feeling, getting warmer or colder, and even pulsating depending on the situation. It made their bond stronger than ever, too. Leaving it in any place where it had the smallest chance of being taken away from him was a sin.

He observed from the blimp's clean, shining insides as the finalists arrived. Much to his annoyance, literally half of them were part of the "nerd herd" as he was used to calling them. The blonde was somehow in along with a woman with long blonde hair, the white haired kid too, Yugi, some bald guy, a blonde kid wearing weird purple clothes that was definitely also part of Yugi's endless collection of friends, and... he was sure that the cheerleaders didn't count, because they didn't even have duel disks. Where was the eighth finalist?

Kaiba soon started to get stressed out at the late duelist. Who did they think they were?

He took the chance to mock and belittle the nerd herd when they passed by him and Yami soon had to morph into his dark form and push the crowd of teens away so his CEO wouldn't be beaten to unconsciousness by the angry bunch. The duelists that had never seen Yami before started screaming and freaking out and they all had to go to one of the backrooms so things could be explained and sorted out properly.

Kaiba sighed in relief when he was alone once again. There was a sharp sting of jealously when he saw Yami and Yugi interacting with each other before disappearing in the corridors but he suppressed it the best he could with deep breaths. He was enraged at the eighth finalist for taking so long and, in his mind, giving Yami the chance to go and waste time with a bunch of idiots.

After an excruciating half an hour, the last duelist finally arrived, white cloth floating gracefully behind her. Even though her face was partially covered by her white hijab, Seto could recognize those blue eyes from a mile away. He felt his entire body go cold.

"I'm sorry for being so late." The woman said in a playful manner, Kaiba could see the sides of her mouth rising in an annoying smile.

" _You_." He spat out as she gave him her identification cards.

" _Ishizu."_ Seto forced out as if he was spitting venom. He finally knew her name and she somehow aggravated him even more now. Especially since all of her cards and data were on point, so he **had** to let her in. What did the universe have against him this week? The woman paraded in, happily searching a room for herself, Kaiba assumed. Now he was just stressed out. Screaming at Isono to get the blimp in the air, he went deeper into the corridors, looking for Yami.

He found his ghost having a good time with the nerd herd and Mokuba. They were all sorting decks or playing random, non-Duel Monsters games. The purple eyed blonde was sitting in a corner with the bald man, apparently talking to the white-haired kid. Seto noticed that he still had bandages all over him and on his arm.

Jounouchi's and Yugi's clothes were hung up in a corner, drenched in water. Seto had no idea of what the hell they were doing before they arrived in his blimp, but the sight of a midget with marijuana hair and a wet mutt arm wrestling wasn't something he could stand for too long. Yami seemed to be having fun with the fight though, cheering Yugi on and not so discreetly cheating on his behalf by tickling Jounouchi with his tentacles.

As soon as Kaiba called, though, Yami obediently shook his dark, monstrous form off and appeared as a translucent being once again. He floated closer and waved goodbye to everyone in the room while Jounouchi barked at Kaiba for being a party popper. The CEO felt shivers going down his back when he saw the weird kid with purple irises in the back look at Yami with sharp predatory eyes.

He left as fast as he could, forcing Yami to accompany him.

* * *

When they arrived at their luxurious, first class room, Kaiba let Yami float in before locking the door. He let all the stress come out of his body with yet another deep sigh as he stretched his arms above his head. Yami was playing around with transparent form, attempting to be more solid and less... see-through.

He looked so beautiful.

Kaiba sat beside him on the soft, blue sheeted bed. A slight blush blossomed on his face while he observed Yami move his "muscles" beneath the thin, now less transparent skin. The ghost was experimenting with his spiritual form, trying his best to solidify himself without using the gooey, thick darkness he always went to for so many years. Now he was relying completely in his own will and wits, with very little of magic from the Puzzle to help him out. Kaiba noticed that every time Yami got to possess Yugi, the easier it was for his beloved spirit to mimic the anatomy, texture and shape of a human. He wondered why it was like that, and why Yami had to exclusively possess Yugi instead of being a "normal" ghost that could use even objects as a physical form. He just didn't get it, and clenched his hands in unconscious anger at the thought.

Huge, shiny red eyes looked up to him, confused. Kaiba felt his face heating even more at the sight. Why was Yami so attractive to him? Was this even normal? He was sure that if the situation had been better, he would have taken Yami right there in that alley, unable from holding himself away from his previous childhood friend and protector.

Ashamed, he looked down on his knees, but swallowed hard when he felt something eerily similar to a human leaning to his side.

"Yami." He whispered, feeling a sudden ray of pure possessiveness striking him. He wrapped his arm around the smaller one's narrow hips and pulled him closer, heavy breathing at the warm feeling on his side. There was a redness on Yami's face. It was adorable.

"Yami..." Seto repeated, and the ghost visibly squirmed at the moist lust weighting on his partner's voice. He still leaned into Kaiba's touches though, allowing the CEO to pull off his clothes while feeling his skin. He felt safe with him, even though he wasn't completely aware of what Seto wanted.

He lifted his arms so Kaiba could pull his shirt off. It disappeared into thin air the moment it hit the ground, along with his pants and underwear. He was mirroring a bit of Yugi's style mixed with Seto's, but it just wasn't worth to keep spending energy on his clothes when he wasn't wearing them.

Yami blushed deeply when Seto stared at the middle of his legs, feeling a sharp sense of deja vu. But, now he was actually aware of what his aibou missed on him last time. A sly smile grew on Kaiba's face as he dived down and wrapped his mouth on that specific place Yami still didn't really know the purpose of.

Jolts of fire went up the spirit's spine and he screeched, kicking and squirming with the hot pleasure wrapped around his newly created shaft. Seto held him in place, suckling and grinning at him. Pulling out with a wet sound, he started to kiss his way up the trembling ghost's stomach, the smile still in place.

"My kitten is growing up." He whispered heavily and Yami had to hold in a whimper. As Seto reached for his bedside table, messing around with the drawers, Yami recalled Seto comparing him to a cat so many years ago with fondness. What a moment to bring that up.

Kaiba came back into place and resumed his kisses and caresses on Yami's body once again. The ghost could hear a 'pop' somewhere on his side but his attention was immediately directed to a cold finger probing that one sensitive place between his legs. He squealed and, with the burning still fresh in his mind, attempted to pull away- but Seto wouldn't allow it.

After an while of kissing and caressing, he could feel one of Seto's long, slimy and cold fingers making it's way in and whimpered, even though there was no pain. The second one made his body tense up, and the third had him moving around, trying to force it away. Seto was persistent and patient though. He kept his fingers deep inside, scissoring him with care, and even though Yami wasn't a big fan of the sensation, he soon got used to it.

The spirit buried his face on a pillow, trying to hide the hot redness automatically appearing on his face. He should be able to control it, but to his despair, he had found out not that long ago that emotions were impossible to hide in this particular form. He would automatically cry, laugh, or… this. He wasn't sure of why it happened, it was very frustrating.

He let out a deep, relieved sigh when his aibou finally stopped abusing his insides. Kaiba was now kissing and caressing him with tenderness, his partner's heavy form weighing on his own. Something round and hot was pressed against his entrance all of a sudden and send shivers up his spine.

" _A-Aibou?"_ Yami muttered before widening his eyes at the thick length attempting to enter him.

" _A-Aibou!"_ He grit his teeth as Kaiba pushed himself in, hot moans on his ear. It was a slow, hard process due to their differences in size and the fact that Seto wouldn't let him morph into a bigger, broader being to better accommodate him inside. Why his partner was so determined to push himself in such a tight hole was beyond him.

After a good while of trying and trying and lots of lube and pushing, they finally found themselves in a somewhat comfortable position. Yami was drawing in deep, quick breaths and had his legs open wide, Seto in between them. The CEO was giving him love-filled kisses and tender caresses, blue eyes soaked with ecstasy and pleasure. He was running his hands down his beloved's stomach, astounded at the way Yami would lose control of his form and sporadically turn transparent and back to a somewhat solid being.

"I can see myself inside you." Kaiba moaned on the smaller one's ear, watching him shiver. Yami seemed torn between feeling pleasured and pained, but Seto was sure that he would lose himself to him soon, as he started to push in and out.

It felt like heaven to be inside Yami, a pleasure he thought that he'd never experience. He started to pump into him in strong pounds, making the ghost struggle to keep himself on the bed, or at the very least keep himself solid. Yami was soon letting out cries of pleasure as well, if it was from what they were doing or if his own pleasure was slipping through their bond to his ghost he would never know. He only knew that this felt amazing and that he never wanted to stop.

But soon, it became too much. Yami was hot and losing control underneath him, his shaft being squeezed inside the ghost's unstable form. It felt too good, and he came, hot and deep inside his spirit, who let out a screech at the feeling of being filled.

Yami signed in relief when the CEO pulled out, hot droplets of come tainting the sheets. He was full of Seto's essence and he didn't even know how to feel about that. What they just did felt…. Amazing. He knew he could trust his aibou to take good care of him.

He was too tired to move though, and it was up to Seto to take out the dirty sheets and put up new ones. Kaiba came back clean, with fresh sheets and a wet cloth he used to clean up Yami's form. The tired ghost didn't even twitch.

Seto let out a satisfied sigh as he cuddled up to Yami and felt the ghost finally respond by squeezing himself closer to him. He was so happy, they would win this tournament and get those powerful god cards _for sure._

But, when he was close to falling asleep, Ishizu's words rang on his mind once again. The Tablet. Yami's past. He swallowed dry and wrapped his arms around Yami even tighter.

"Please. Please promise to never leave me. Please tell me you'll be with me forever." He whispered, anxiety and fear heavy on his tired mind. He needed a confirmation. He needed to know that Yami wouldn't ever disappear, no matter what everyone said about it, no matter how much they knew about his past.

Yami's red eyes seemed to glow in the dim room. They were filled with guilt and pain all of a sudden, and Seto felt his heart tighten. Yami only nuzzled his neck and whispered comforting words on his ear.

" _I will try_ _my best."_

"I know you will."

Seto was surprised that his words sounded so cool and constricted with the turmoil inside his chest. He wiped a stray tear out of his eyes before his ghost could see it. Yami was satisfied and cuddled up to him, but Kaiba was still wide awake, haunted by what the future could bring.

* * *

 **If you enjoy the fic, please don't forget to comment, favorite, or to give me any signal of it! That inspires me immensely to write more and can't do it without you guys!**

 **See you all soon, friends!**


	18. Ancient Callings

Seto had a hard time trying to wake up the next day. He was too comfortable, and Yami's warmth against him was too nice. But soon enough, two lazy blue eyes opened up, still drowsy from sleep. He gave his spirit a last tight squeeze before shaking himself awake and stretching out.

Yami grumbled at him on the bed, annoyed about having to let go of the warmth so soon but complying. Both of them got ready for the day, cleaning up and leaving their room. Yami decided to hang out in the Puzzle for the time being, if only to stay closer to his aibou for a short period of time.

They went to the main hall of the Battle Ship, where the matches would be determined. As the bingo machine rolled on, they had breakfast and a bit of time to completely wake up.

The first match turned out to be Yugi vs Bakura. Kaiba frowned at the result, realizing that one of the coolest duels would be the first one. That is, assuming that Yami would want to fight by Yugi's side. This wasn't very good for the marketing of the rest of the tournament but, oh well. At least he would get to see Yami dueling.

Yugi didn't seem too excited about fighting Bakura, and Kaiba could understand. The normal Bakura kid was too soft to want to crush and the evil Bakura was going to try and kill him. The CEO wasn't worried about murders happening in his tournament though... Yami being around guaranteed that nobody would die. He was more worried about the ghost's safety _himself._

Things were all sorted out so the first duel could start right away. And just like Seto expected, a pleading, shiny-eyed Yami soon projected himself by his side... wanting to go and help Yugi in his duel. Kaiba had the _very slight feeling_ that this counted as cheating, but he didn't care. Seeing his spirit duel was his life force, there was nothing better nor more satisfying. If helping Yugi win was what it took, for all means Yugi could keep that stupid King of Games title for himself.

Almost immediately, Isono directed them to the battle field on top of the blimp. After Seto handed the Puzzle to Yugi, the players directed themselves to each side of the cold field. With a smooth movement to open their duel disks, they started the fight.

* * *

Kaiba felt a frigid shiver going down his spine when Bakura's pose changed completely. His eyes turned sharp and murderous. The albino laughed at the wide-eyed Yugi and pulled out his deck, slamming it on his disk.

"I bet you thought you had seen the last of me." The evil spirit spat out venomously.

Swallowing dry, Yugi allowed Yami to take over. The ghost soon changed his own host, red eyes burning holes on his opponent at the other side of the field. He ignored Bakura's jabs and prepared himself for the duel, which enraged the other spirit.

Kaiba watched their fight with care and was surprised to see that Yami _clearly_ had the upper hand. He was destroying all of Bakura's monsters without breaking a sweat. Now the albino was holding on to his last life points... was it seriously going to end up like this?

Seto wasn't sure if he felt relieved or horrified when everything turned out to be a trap to summon Dark Necrofear. The awful-looking doll proceeded to destroy every single monster in Yami's field. With it's effects and magic backups from Bakura, that thing was almost invincible. Yami tried to keep up by activating a card that allowed him to summon Dark Magician Girl... But the monster still wasn't strong enough to take out Necrofear on her own. The magician made desperate gestures at her master.

Kaiba held on to his breath. Yami still had a face down card, probably a trap to take out Necrofear. He only needed Bakura to attack him so he could activate it.

When the albino's turn came along, Seto eyed his monsters, trembling with expectation... but to his annoyance, the other ghost wasn't stupid and avoided to attack. He must've got a dead draw and had no monsters to summon so he could trigger the trap without Necrofear being in danger.

Seto's heart skipped a beat when in Yami's turn, the card was revealed to be a magic card. An equip to boost DMG's attack points. With that, he destroyed the horrible doll in a matter of seconds. But Bakura laughed, increasing Kaiba's anxiety.

Dark Necrofear's effect was activated. It turned the field into a horrendous amalgamation of eyes and mouths all around the blimp. The sight made Seto's stomach twirl.

"You remember this place, Pharaoh?" The spirit screamed in a mocking tone. "Didn't we have a fun time in it? Isn't it pretty?"

Kaiba clenched his fists. Yami seemed horrified with the field, more than a normal person should be. As terrifying as that field is, it's nothing but a hologram. What is making his ghost so stressed out and how can he stop it without ruining the entire tournament?

He soon found out what exactly Yami was afraid of. Horrifying ghosts started to attack him whenever he tried to control one of his monsters. Yami was still more scared than he should have been, though. Considering that he didn't twitch once in front of a Blue Eyes and his dragon was _definitely_ scarier than these... things. Kaiba found himself wondering if Yami had some sort of trauma about being attacked like this. But he suppressed it, this was not the time and besides. Yami's past wasn't important, he did not need to know about it.

But Bakura wasn't done with just using special effect ghosts to attack Yami directly. He also had an Ouija Board card hidden in his sleeves, which would force Yami to win in mere five turns. Pegasus made a fucking broken game.

Seto shook his head. No. Yami _would_ turn this situation around, no matter how few turns are left. Yami never loses, no matter how bad the situation is.

Red locked with blue.

A smile opened on Yami's face, and Seto immediately knew that this duel's winner was decided.

"I activate a magic card that will reassign all the equipment in my field- to Kuriboh!" The spirit stated proudly. Kaiba wasn't very sure of what he intended to do until he realized that... the horrifying damage spirits counted as an equipment. Even though who they were equipped to was decided by Bakura. Even though Yami couldn't see which monster had it until they attacked... now he knew.

Seto was sure that this wasn't all, though.

And he was proven right once Yami declared he was going to resurrect Dark Necrofear. With Resurrection of the Dead, the spirit easily destroyed the field of eyes and mouths. Seto could almost see Yami's shoulders relaxing as the starry, dark blue sky was visible once again.

Bakura still wasn't out of the game though, and this duel was being _way_ more interesting than he first expected it to be. But, without any room to play the last card needed for his D-E-A-T-H combo, Bakura seemed to be in the ropes.

The albino was still smiling, though. And as soon as he used a magic card to send his Necrofear back to the graveyard, Seto understood why. The awful-looking red field returned in all it's glory. Kaiba felt his heart tighten when Yami's eyes widened in terror.

There was only one turn left for Yami to win. The CEO could feel his heart falling to his stomach as Yami drew his last card.

When a smile spread open on his ghost's face, Seto let out a deep, relieved breath.

Lightning shot to the skies. Clouds cut through the field of eyeballs in an astounding display. The lightening focused itself in an enormous form. It straightened itself and grew wings that could embrace the entire length of the blimp. Strikes of light started to curl around one another and around the airship. Soon, a huge red dragon stood over them.

It opened it's two mouths and let out a echoing roar that spread through the night sky. Bakura's smile disappeared almost instantly and was replaced by a look of sheer horror. Seto laughed as Yami declared the final attack… but the ghost stopped middle way.

"Why did you stop?!" Kaiba scolded him immediately. He wouldn't have Yami acting like a wimp, they had to fight each other in the finals, for God's sake!

But when he turned around to the albino kid, he understood what was wrong almost immediately. He had fallen on his knees, holding his arm and looking around, horrified.

The evil ghost had chickened out and left the injured kid in it's place to take the blow of a God. What a bastard, the shock wave could definitely kill his host. But Yami will do what he has to do, he promised to duel him on the finals and that's what's going to happen.

But... Yami didn't attack. He refused to, much to Kaiba's frustration. Seto was sure that Yugi sharing a mind with him was what was making Yami act with such stupidity. Refusing to attack in a duel and risking losing his place on the semi-finals... ugh.

The nonsense continued for a while. That is, until the evil spirit possessed his host again, daring Yami to attack. Seeing that Ryou was out of the scene, Yami commanded Slifer to attack at full force. The blow knocked the evil albino down, and he dragged across the field before stopping. Kaiba couldn't understand why the ghost returned when he was going to win the duel to save his life. He was going to guess that Bakura realized how humiliating it would be to win like that.

Yami ran to the unconscious kid along with the nerd herd, and convinced them to take him to his room. Should he tell them that he had a doctor at bay in case of an emergency? Eh. This wasn't an emergency.

There was _one_ thing that needed urgent care right now, though.

" _Yami._ " He called out, running after the spirit and stopping him midway into the blimp.

" _What. Was. That."_ He spat out. "Why didn't you attack at once?!"

The ghost had the decency to look ashamed, but... his eyes got glassy in an instant and he rose them up again, this time determined.

"I couldn't hurt him. He's my friend."

Kaiba took a hand to his face, grunting in disapproval.

"You're spending _way_ too much time with the nerd herd. Get out of him." Seto continued in a commanding tone, signaling to Yami to come closer to him. The ghost visibly hesitated but complied, leaving Yugi's body to it's rightful owner. Yugi immediately glared at the CEO.

"You can't order him around and keep him from having bonds with people forever, Kaiba." The kid said accusingly. Yugi's anger was clear, telling from the way he refrained from adding the "kun" at the end of Seto's name. The business man scoffed at him.

"It's been almost an entire year since we last meet each other, and you still don't understand that _he is_ _ **mine.**_ _"_ Kaiba said venomously, fuming from the sheer audacity in the midget in front of him.

"He is a _**person**_ _,_ Kaiba! He belongs to no one! It's been almost a year since I first told you this! And you still don't understand that your damn possessiveness is going to hurt him! What if Yami finds his home? What if he finds the place he's meant to go to? What if he doesn't belong here, what the hell will you do then, Kaiba?" Yugi raised his voice at him.

Yami's form wavered from distress. He instinctively placed himself between them in an attempt to soothe the two. Seto banged his fist on the wall behind him, infuriated. The loud sound echoed around them, startling Yugi to no end. The kid swallowed dry but still kept eye contact with the CEO, refusing to give away his discomfort.

"Yami has _**nowhere**_ to go, _host_. He doesn't remember his past and there's no magical friendship spell that will ever fix that!" The CEO spat out. "He _needs_ me! He _needs_ Mokuba! And he'll stay with us, no matter what you or these crazy foreigners say!"

Yugi glared at him, not bothering to answer.

Enraged, Kaiba turned his back on him and disappeared into the corridors. Pulling Yami along, of course. The ghost waved Yugi goodbye before going away with his aibou.

* * *

The next duel turned out to be Kaiba vs Ishizu. Seto was satisfied with the match. He was sure that he would be able to crush the woman in a duel, make up for all the destiny nonsense she has been telling him.

But… things didn't actually go _that_ well. He found himself trapped into her combos, unable to play his best cards. Because she _"could see the future"_ and knew every possible move he could attempt to win against her. She had him trapped against a corner, and he didn't know how to get out of it. If he summoned the wrong monster... he would be declassified without even having a chance to duel against his ghost.

Seto could feel himself deflating... empty blue eyes staring at his hand without really looking at it. He couldn't think. He was….. scared.

"Seto!" Yami's voice rang into his ears. Looking to his side, Kaiba saw the spirit standing there, fiery red eyes burning on his skin. He looked so tangible, but so far away.

"I can see! Our duel in the finals and all the others that come after it!" The ghost screamed, the determined look on his face never wavering. Seto felt his heart get warmer, and he smiled despise the awful situation.

"Wait for me, Yami!" He called, the smile growing.

Turning back to his opponent, he looked at his hand once again, but this time with focused and confident eyes.

Blue Eyes was there.

As if the dragon was luring him closer, he could feel his consciousness being pulled into the card. Into a vision of rock, white and blood.

He could see a figure like his own holding a young woman in front of a rock tablet. The dragon engraved in it huge and towering over the two bodies on the ground.

He snapped awoken back in the battle field, taking in a deep breath. Blue eyes just talked to him! What the hell did that vision mean?

He held the card in a tight, angry grip, close to folding it. Was it asking to be played? But Obelisk was the _clear_ choice to be made here, playing Blue Eyes would be plain bull-

His eyes widened and his grip weakened around his card. _The clear choice._ Ishizu _knew_ that he would play Obelisk. And like in every single one of the previous turns... she had prepared something to take the God out of the field and defeat him once and for all. Anger build in inside Seto's chest and, like a rebellious teenager, he smacked Blue Eyes into his disk.

A ferocious roar echoed through the skies. The white dragon accepted Seto's tributes and landed in front of him. It roared to the woman on the other side of the field. She looked terrified, looking around her hand and touching the Millennium Necklace several times as if asking it... what went wrong?!

"Y-You... changed the future..." She whispered. Soon an ominous burst stream disintegrated her monsters. She let out a soft gasp as her life points went down to zero.

Seto stepped out of the field, feeling his heart melt when Yami trotted in his direction. His eyes shone with pride and happiness. He caressed his lover's shoulders with tenderness. Silently thanking him for the encouragement with his eyes. He was so glad that he had Yami with him, he was sure that he wouldn't have been as successful in that duel otherwise.

He nodded to the still star struck Ishizu, recognizing her as a good opponent. Then he stormed away with Yami right behind him. The ghost happily gave Ishizu a congratulations before disappearing into the Puzzle.

* * *

The next duel was the blonde woman vs the blonde kid with purple eyes. Seto didn't bother to watch that one and consequently Yami had to stay with him, brooding on their room. After an while they started to play games and watch shows on the TV installed in their room, until-

A loud, bright lightning struck the blimp, making the entire sky seem white outside. That startled Seto out of his seat. He wondered if a storm was coming or if this had something to do with the duel taking place.

Just to make sure, he went to the battle field and to his annoyance, found out that yes. There were unconscious people up there _once again_. Ugh, maybe having the tournament take place somewhere they could be hit by lightning wasn't _that_ of a good idea. The blonde kid even had his hair up like a freak now, most likely because of the electricity. There was also he possibility that he was copying Yugi's outrageous style.

After calling the medic, he decided to stay there and watch the next duel. Just in case someone fell unconscious….. again.

And it paid off, because the next duel had both the bald man and the mutt unconscious after being hit by Ra's lightning. Oh, how wonderful. Did he even have enough hospital beds for all these people?!

For his relief, only the declassified man stayed unconscious. The mutt recovered quickly enough. They would be able to proceed with the tournament this time.

They traveled to the local where the semi finals and the finals themselves would take place... the Alcatraz tower.

Seto couldn't help but feel shivers going down his spine with the sight. The place was abandoned for ages, but it still made him feel awful. It wasn't going to do that for long, though. As soon as he won the tournament, this feeling of dread and this tower of hatred would be gone, he would make sure of it.

They had a duel with four players to decide who would fight who in the semifinals. After a very annoying competition over who would get to fight Yugi- (it would most likely be Yami instead) first, Kaiba had the right to laugh on everyone else's faces... he got to be the first one to duel Yami, and he was extremely satisfied with that. It wasn't as glorious as fighting his childhood friend in the finals, but it was still very great.

The only annoying thing was that the mutt and the Egyptian guy with spiked blonde hair would get to duel first. Which was a duel that he just… couldn't care less about. But Yami was anxious and worried about the outcome of this particular match for some reason... so he hesitantly allowed himself to accompany the ghost and Mokuba in watching the mutt duel.

The match was actually surprisingly trilling. They seemed to be in some sort of dark game. He remembered the time when Yami used to play these, and the outcome wasn't pretty. Maybe that's why so many people were falling unconscious... come to think about it, every single one of the people who fainted dueled this guy before falling ill. Was he…?

The thought struck Seto hard. This person must be trapping souls away and will only return them if defeated. Kaiba didn't even know that such a thing was even possible. That is, considering that Yami only dared to play such games when he and Mokie were in danger. He didn't know that this magic was something you could use in _every single game you play._ What the hell, why didn't Yami use it more often then?

Seto thought that it was a consequence of him becoming more human, but... this blonde guy outright had a physical body and he was still putting people in comas in a blink of an eye! Why wasn't Yami using his powers to protect himself…?! Did Yugi poison his mind enough for him to be scared of doing what he needs to do?

Shaking his head, Kaiba forced himself to focus on the duel ahead of him. It didn't matter if Yami was refraining from using his powers or not, at least not now. They could talk about that later. Now he should decide if he even _could_ stop this Malik person's "killing spree". A dark game gave him a HUGE, very unfair advantage. But Kaiba knew that it was invisible to anyone outside the players and himself. Yami's mind could grasp the complex magic whatever that was happening in front of them. And then, proceed to send the translated nonsense back to him. But to the outside world, this was just a regular duel with _very_ dramatic, and _very_ invested players. He couldn't stop the duel and declassify Malik without the entire world throwing a fit. Then saying that he's doing this for Jounouchi's advantage. E _specially because he's most definitely not doing this for the mutt's advantage._

He couldn't do it. The media would fuck him and KC up with conspiracy theories and... oh god, disgusting relationship theories. He wouldn't be able to keep himself from invading the news and letting Yami lash out at everyone if that happened. Stopping this duel was impossible and the mutt would have to deal with it. At least his final moments were entertaining enough.

Malik summoned Ra into the field. The golden creature was majestic and mighty, powerful roars echoing through the skies. It was the strongest of the three God Cards by a long shot, and it's light almost blinded everyone in the field. Seto couldn't stop staring, heart beating fast and hard at the beautiful sight. It would be his in the end of this tournament. All his.

The thought filled his veins with fire.

He was so mesmerized with the bird's beauty that he almost didn't notice Jounouchi getting burned by the God. Almost. It distracted him, for his annoyance, but at least the mutt was putting up somewhat of a fight. He knew how this would end, though. Mokuba was stepping from one foot to the other beside him, nervous. His eyes wandered from the duel to Yami, then back to the duel, and back to Yami. Kaiba could understand his little brother's anxiety. Especially because _for some reason_ Yami was worrying his guts out over the mutt. Form wavering and big, red eyes watering... he knew that his spirit wouldn't be happy at all with the outcome and let out a sigh. That's why he doesn't have close bonds with anyone other than Yami and Mokuba. You never know when they'll be burned alive by a God.

Even though Jounouchi tried his best to stay awake and activate his last cards... he ended up passing out from the blow. Exactly like Kaiba expected.

The tournament had more injured people than he thought there would be, but he could deal with that. What was making him uncomfortable... was the way that Yami immediately dashed to Jounouchi's possibly dead body. The lightning struck him right in the head, that definitely fried the small amount of brains he still had.

" _Jounouchi-kun!"_

Yugi was crying, and that was understandable. He and the blonde were almost married, but why was Yami all teary eyed and worried as well? Ughhh, he'll reallocate KC's headquarters to America. IMMEDIATELY after the end of this tournament. Is Yugi _trying_ to annoy him? He and his group of nerds are making Yami soft and weak, he has to take him away as soon as possible.

He called some servants to take the mutt to the doctor. Then he made sure to scold Yami for being so emotional and risking losing focus during their duel. Yami assured him that Jounouchi's death wouldn't affect his performance at all... but the CEO was still feeling his skin tingle. The thought of Yami feeling worried about anyone other than Yugi, Mokuba and himself... he hates it. Kaiba had accepted that Yugi is Yami's host. That breaking their instantaneous bond would be impossible, but. What the fuck, the mutt too? What was this, a sale off of Yami's love?

He forced himself to recompose, because he would duel Yami next. He couldn't scold Yami for not focusing if he wasn't going to do that himself.

After preparing and having a short rest, both of them headed to the field where Ra had appeared moments ago.

They faced each other in the battlefield, eyes filled with fire. Seto could feel satisfaction growing inside his chest. Yami was indeed determined to win this, he could feel it deep inside his heart, through their bond. No grief was clouding his mind, red eyes burning holes in the CEOS's skin.

He let out a loud, heartfelt laugh before activating the holographic arena. He had prepared it for Yami and their fated duel only. A roman coliseum almost immediately was towering over them. Thousands of faceless people chanting Kaiba's name. Seto gloated on the artificial attention. Yami, though jumped at the sudden (and, he admits, a bit obnoxious) dueling field. Kaiba let out a loud laugh, feeling accomplished.

"Pull out your sword and _fight me,_ Yami!" Seto screamed, certain that Yami could hear him from the other side of the arena. Without even hesitating, Yami prepared his own duel disk. Seto could feel adrenaline and excitement pumping throughout his body already.

Their duel was fiery and mighty. Kaiba could barely contain himself... dueling Yami was one of the wonders he could never get tired of having. It was exciting and thrilling, his beloved ghost would meet every single one of his moves head on. And with so, so much power that Kaiba could feels his knees getting weaker and his heart thumping in his chest. This was delightful. He never wanted it to stop.

A faint glowing distracted him from his enjoyment and he stared at the source of the light with anger. Blue eyes widened when he saw Malik staring right back at him, a weird, small Rod shining over his belt. It also had that dreadful Millennium Eye stamped on it, and after the shock worn down he found himself even angrier at this... ghost. Whatever it was.

He looked back at Yami to go on with the duel regardless of the annoying light. He attempted to summon Obelisk to the field, only to have his plans foiled over and over again. Yami managed to turn his strategy around and summon his own God Card instead.

Slifer towered over the field, it's huge body wrapped around his master as it let out a overwhelming roar. Kaiba could feel his body going cold at the terrifying sight.

Forcing himself to keep playing, he finally managed to summon Obelisk to the field. That is, as soon as the effect from Yami's card worn out. The Gods faced each other, attack points identical to one another's.

Kaiba knew that he had to take Slifer out of the field if he wanted to continue dueling, even if it would cost him his God Card, so he ordered Obelisk to attack... and felt a powerful sting on his chest as soon as he saw his partner's horrified expression.

The Gods clashed against one another, roars and lights flooding the field.

"Yami?" Kaiba asked, for the first time not focusing in their duel. He could see his beloved's body shaking, and the world started to crumble before his eyes. Light peeked out of several cracks on the ground, so much that he was almost blinded by it's intensity. The Gods were still fighting and clashing, opening the cracks even wider.

When the blinding light finally started to wear down... he found himself floating above a broken palace. Havoc dominated the place. There were pieces of buildings spread all around the ground and some sort of commotion was happening... inside the carcass of what used to be a magnificent building.

"Give up, Pharaoh! You've got nothing left! You're a naked king!" A man with an unnerving similarity to Kaiba screamed at a soft figure kneeling on the ground. Seto could feel his breath getting caught up in a lump inside his throat.

The young king looked exactly like Yami.

The king didn't answer the Kaiba-look alike with anything other than a swipe of his arm. A Dark Magician was soon summoned to the field. The terrifying Seto-like man immediately summoned a Blue Eyes. He raised his hand, about to attack when the light came back with a force, blinding Seto and Yami back to the field.

What the heck was that?! Did they get transported to somewhere else or was this a vision… of the past?

Shaking his head, Kaiba assured himself that this couldn't be it. He wasn't present in Yami's past… was he? _At least he shouldn't be._

Yami seemed to be completely shocked from what happened, trembling from head to toe. With a bit of trash-talking and encouraging, Seto managed to get Yami back into the duel... maybe even _too_ much into it, considering that he was utterly destroyed after just a few plays. Enraged, Kaiba left the field to brood inside his room, not waiting for Yami to follow him this time.

But soon enough, his ghost appeared to apologize to him for having won- which Seto immediately shut down.

"Do _not_ apologize for being the King of Games, Yami. This just means that I have to work harder to get my title back." He spat out before caressing his ghost's hair. Yami was too pure for him, he couldn't understand why to save his life.

He could feel a heavy pool of dread in his stomach as he thought about the duelist his aibou would have to face next. Malik. The man wielding the Winged Dragon of Rá.

Pushing his fears to the back of his mind, he reminded himself of how Yami defeated him multiple times. Of how he's considered to be the second strongest duelist of all time. There's no way that Yami was going to lose to some nobody, no matter how rare his cards were. Yami is from another level.

He scheduled the duel to be this afternoon. Seto took as much time as he could with Yami before the match, preparing him for what was to come. He knew that Yami could only win with Devil's Sanctuary, a card that only he, Seto Kaiba, was known to possess, but. He couldn't simply give that card to Yami. That was DEFINITELY cheating and he wouldn't have it. So he did what he could before allowing Yami to go and fight against Malik in the finals... avoiding mentioning the card the entire time, of course.

He found himself enraged at the fact that his aibou going to fight someone else, and decided to leave the place. Regardless of who won, he WAS going to blow this island of memories up.

With that thought in mind, he left the field and directed himself to the exit, only to have Ishizu trap him in place.

"Kaiba." She called, blue eyes shining in the darkness of the corridor. "You have to go back and give him the key to victory. He won't be able to win without you."

"Tsk. _He does not need me._ He's more than skilled enough to win his duel on his own."

"He doesn't have your card with him. Your card is vital to his victory." Her blue eyes seemed to shine even brighter as she said those words.

"Kaiba… this tower you've build. His deck… these are the places where the souls meet."

Seto could feel his breath escaping from his lungs. He was having a hard time to breathe all of a sudden, and everything burned. He could see flashes of that damned Tablet on the back of his mind. Flashes of the words written on it in a long dead language.

 _The corpse sinks to the floor..._

 _The vessel becomes sand, becomes dust._

 _Even the brightest gold, even the sharpest sword..._

 _Is wrapped in the sheath of time..._

 _Woe to the Pharaoh, for his body lacks even his name.._

 _Time is the battlefield of souls..._

 _I cry the song of battle, the song of a friend..._

 _To the place far away where souls meet..._

 _Guide me._

Kaiba jerked his head up and down, trying to get rid of the flashes, of the words. The song was way too loud onto his ears, it was deafening to him, dragging him down to God knows where.

When he finally snapped out of it, he was out of breath, exhausted and gasping for air. His enraged blue eyes met Ishizu's mischievous ones. It was like she knew what he had just experienced and was enjoying every second of it.

"Your Pharaoh needs you, Priest. Go help him like you were born to do."

Kaiba let out a heavy, weak breath but soon got up to his feet and complied. Not before snapping at the woman and assuring her that he was doing this because _he w_ anted to help, though. He wasn't doing it because of some bloody, disgusting priest. She laughed at him and disappeared in the corridors once again in an unnerving fashion.

Seto was shaking on his way back, the visions and the singing still fresh inside his mind. What the heck was happening? Why was he having so many visions? What was all of this?

He violently shook his head from side to side to clean his mind and took a deep breath. Focus. He was going back to give Devil's Sanctuary to Yami and give him a chance to win. This still felt like cheating, but-

 _I'm supposed to help him._

Kaiba stopped onto his tracks and shook his head with force once again, trying to get rid of the voices. This was awful. What did that Ishizu witch do to him?!

Breathing with some difficulty, he pushed himself forward. As soon as he arrived on the battle field, Yami was about to begin the duel. He threw the card to his ghost without much warning other than calling his name. As expected, the spirit caught the card like a professional.

"Devil's Sanctuary?" He saw his partner mutter.

"Put that card into your deck!" Kaiba growled, crossing his arms.

Without hesitating, Yami immediately pushed the card in and shuffled his deck. His eyes shone with thankfulness. His smile made Seto's heart melt, and all his doubts about helping Yami dissolved from his mind.

This duel was tense and serious, a very different tone from most of the others. It really felt like Yami was fighting for his life.

Soon Malik pulled a stunt about their "real souls" suffering whenever they took any damage... Which Kaiba knew was not true. Yami didn't have too much to do with Yugi other than the latter being his host. This only applied to the strange Egyptian blonde. His "real soul" ?

Kaiba brought a hand to his face, grunting. This entire thing about several souls and past lives and magic items was making his head burn.

Yami wasn't having it. Fighting with everything he had, he managed to keep up with the Egyptian. Malik ended up playing himself into a dead end... when he offered all of his life points to Rá, raising it's attack points. In the second that Yami managed to take the God out of the field, he was doomed.

With the effects of a magic card Kaiba didn't bother to pay attention to, the "real" Malik switched places with the "evil" Malik. He gave Yami the green light to attack, so the spirit did, finishing the duel with an impressive blow. Kaiba felt his entire body relax at the sight.

It was finally over.

He approached his ghost as Yami walked down the field, putting a hand on his shoulder for comfort. Now that the threat was gone, everyone met up with them on top of the tower, even the mutt. The Egyptian guy told them about some sort of tattoo he had on his back. From what he was saying, it was important for Yami to recover his past.

Kaiba felt a lump on his throat and he felt the sudden need to go away, take Yami with him. He didn't want Yami to find out anything about his past, but keeping the spirit blind forever would be just... cruel.

He held his breath in as the young blonde turned his back to them and took off his shirt. He had an enormous tattoo indeed, and it was nearly identical to the Tablet that Seto had grown to hate.

The three prideful Gods stood on the top of the boy's back, almost mockingly. Kaiba immediately knew what Yami had to do and he loathed it...

Present the three God Cards to the Tablet. The very same tablet with the poem that was haunting his thoughts. The Tablet made by the same person who doomed Ishizu's family to a life of eternal darkness and suffering. Just so they could guide a deceased Pharaoh back to the Afterlife.

"You'll recognize him by the three God Cards he wields…" Malik muttered, putting his shirt back on. "Bring him to the Tablet and make him present the Cards to it so he can recover his memories of past. Those instructions have been passed by our family for generations. Awaiting the Pharaoh's return... Now that he's back, we can finally be free."

"Does he _have_ to present the cards to the Tablet?" Kaiba immediately inquired. Malik looked at him with a dumbstruck expression.

"The whole reason for our family to have been trapped underground for thousands of years... was so we could tell the Pharaoh what to do. _The least_ he could do is follow the instructions."

Kaiba pressed his mouth into a thin line. Who was this guy again?! Who did _he think_ he was, to be more exact?

"I'll do it." Yami answered before Kaiba could snap anything back. The CEO stared at him in shock. Yami looked back to him and let out a soft smile.

"Don't worry, Seto. I won't ever leave you. But I want to know where I came from, why I'm still here long after my time has ran out. And besides, wasting everything that Malik and Ishizu's family has done to bring me here would be awful."

Kaiba only answered with a grunt, hands tightly pressed into fists on his sides. He did not want it regardless, he had zero good feelings about this.

But this time it was up to Yami. Up to what he wanted to do. And knowing the spirit and his mellow heart... there was no way that he was going to let the Ishtar family's sacrifice be in vain. Whichever he wanted to know of his past or not.

Yami meekly approached him, eyes shining with pleading as he held the three God cards in his hands. It still astounded Seto how submissive Yami was to him. No matter how powerful or intimidating he could be in the battle field.

He let out a deep, tired sigh and pulled Yami closer by the hips, gluing the ghost to him. He had noticed that the more often he let Yami possess Yugi, the more… solid, and corporeal his spirit became. It was truly amazing, even if it resulted from something Seto couldn't help but loathe. Yami being so close to another person… it was just a blasphemy.

The CEO could feel his ghost shivering slightly against him before looking up to him with his big, red eyes.

"Can I, Seto? Can I go and recover my past?" Yami almost muttered.

Kaiba couldn't find it in his heart to say no.

Yami was ecstatic, a huge smile spread open on his face. After an awkward wave of "goodbyes" and "see you later"s, they entered KC's Blue Eyes Jet and asserted themselves. Mokuba was having a good time with Yami on the back seat, who was in his semi-solid, human like form. Kaiba was brooding in the front seat, unsure if he should head to the museum right away... or force Yami to wait a bit more and enjoy his beloved's ignorance for the small amount of time he still had...

Kaiba took in a deep breath… and made his decision.

His hands gripped the flywheel in a tight lock, so much it almost hurt. He did not want to do this. But the faster it ended, the faster he could get used to it and things could be back to normal. Yami was not leaving this alone, he just had to accept it.

A weirdly warm, translucent hand appeared on top of his own, squeezing him. Seto let out a soft gasp before looking behind him, where Yami was staring with worry-filled eyes. He couldn't help but smile and squeeze the spirit's hand back for comfort. A small smile opened up in his ghost's face. Everything was going to be ok.

When they arrived at the museum, it was already evening. Yami had his God cards in a tight grip, swallowing dry at the intimidating sight of the museum. Seto caressed his shoulders before they left the jet and got in. Mokuba jumped out, excited. His eyes shone with the possibility of finding out more about Yami's past. That was something he had been craving for years, and now it would become a reality!

Unknown to the family of three, the nerd herd was following them close. Yugi and Jounouchi were leading the team, worried eyes focused inside the building.

"Do you think that anything is going to happen with Yami, Yug? The guy may be a ghost and have the weirdest relationship ever with _Kaiba_ from all people but he's a nice guy. And I didn't get my Red Eyes back just yet."

"Ah, Jou-kun I have no idea… that's why we're here, isn't it? To make sure that he's going to be ok?"

"Didn't you say that it was to make sure that Kaiba was actually going to take him to the Tablet?"

"That too."

They all sneaked in behind them. Anzu, Honda and Ryou were worried about what the heck was going to happen with Yami. Especially since they also liked the guy. After the Death-T and Monster World fiasco, they saw how heroic and helpful the ghost was... even if a bit too intense with his punishments. He was nothing but a perturbed soul trying to help in any way he could, and they admired that. If returning his favors was possible, they would be happy to oblige.

They saw Kaiba, Mokuba and Yami approaching the artifact from afar. The spirit's nervousness was clear as he raised the three cards high up, presenting them to the Tablet.

Nothing happened.

As Jou and Yugi approached them, though, a strong light came from the rock. Yami shielded his eyes, but ended up being pulled into the stone, no matter how much he was fighting to stay in place. Kaiba gasped and dashed to his ghost, trying to hold him, but it was in vain.

As his semi-solid body dissolved, Yami was sucked into the stone and disappeared into thin air. Seto let out a bloodcurdling scream. And then he ran to tackle against the stone artifact, only to be pushed out by a ray of light. He smacked against the wall and fell to the ground, unconscious.

Mokuba shrieked and went to help his big brother as the nerd herd watched in horror. They tried to approach the CEO, only to be enveloped in light and pulled into the tablet along with Yami. The last thing they saw was Mokuba trying to wake his brother up.

Kaiba found himself trapped into a pinch black void. He looked around, but nothingness went as far as his eyes could see. Where _was_ he...?

A ray of light cut through the darkness and he couldn't help but put his arm in front of his eyes to protect them from it. He hesitated before raising his head, and muffled a gasp.

It was the Priest from the vision. The Priest who build that dammed Tablet.

"Who are you?!" He spat, not interested in what the hell _this guy_ had to say. The similarities between them were unnerving. But. He couldn't help but feel that this was nothing but a cheap copy of himself.

The man was covered with gold from head to toe, white linen waving in the nonexistent wind. He was wrapped in cloths and ties of white and blue, golden jewelry covering his arms, legs and head. A crown sat there, showing to everyone that this man was a member of royalty. He opened his ocean blue eyes, glaring at the CEO in front of him.

"What, in the name of the Gods, are you doing here?" The priest whispered, venom dripping from his words.

" _Who are you?!"_ Kaiba repeated, not in the mood for any of this.

The man stood his ground, looking down at Seto in a way that made him want to punch the dark-skinned copy in the face.

"I am Pharaoh Seth. The reason for you to exist, _Kaiba."_ Seth spat out.

Kaiba blinked at the statement before bursting out in laughter. The priest tightened his hands into fists.

"You have _nothing_ to do with me. And _Pharaoh?_ Who do you think you're tricking? I _know_ that you're nothing but a priest, weakling."

Seth gasped at him.

" _ **What?!**_ Don't be stupid. After my king passed away I got to sit on the throne- but it's not like any of this matters. You shouldn't be here, and I'm going to keep you immobilized for as long as I need." The priest was steaming with rage by the time he finished his sentence.

Kaiba immediately got up, eyes shooting daggers at his cheap copy.

"You're going to take me out of here! Who do you think you are?! I don't know nor CARE about you or what the hell you need. I have to go help someone and you _will not_ keep me trapped here!"

The priest simply let out a slow, lazy smile.

"We'll see." He said, eyes turning dark as a glowing yellow eye appeared on his head.

The last thing Kaiba felt was intense shock at the sight he only saw a few times before... until his vision went dark and everything was numb once again.

* * *

He wasn't sure of what happened nor for how long. He had spend way too much time in semi consciousness... only slightly aware of what was happening around him. There were doctors, Mokuba was also around. No signs of Yami anywhere. Where was he?

Kaiba forced himself out of his slumber, eyes snapping open. What happened? What was this place?

Memories came flooding back as he sat up straight onto his bed, sweating buckets. Yami? Yami! Where was he? How much time had passed?! Days? Months? Years? Ugh, not this shit again.

He pressed his hands on his forehead and let out a shaky sigh. What was he going to do? How could he save Yami if the ghost had been swallowed by the artifact for so long...? No. There _must_ be a way. There _has_ to be a way.

He got out of bed, trembling and noticing how damn pale his body was. This wasn't a good sign. Not a good sign _at all_. He had to find Ishizu and find out what the heck happened _now._

As he was leaving the room, he bumped into a small, black-haired kid. The gasped and helped him up.

"Nii-sama!" Mokuba exclaimed. "What are you doing?! You've just been smacked against a wall, you should be resting!"

These words took an enormous weight out of Kaiba's shoulders. It hasn't been days, let alone a month. Some hours at most, but... why was he so pale then? What happened with him while he was out?

It didn't take long for him to recall how the so called "Pharaoh" had threatened to immobilize him for "as long as he needed". Was that what the coma was about?!

Shaking his head, he decided that it didn't matter. What mattered was finding Ishizu as quickly as possible.

* * *

Yami was in Egypt.

 _Fucking Egypt._

It seems that being sucked into an ancient artifact was the key for him to recover his past. He assumes that, since Ishizu claimed that his ghost knew EVERYTHING now. _Oh, how great! That's_ _really_ _great._

Kaiba was fuming with rage.

Ishizu was incredibly patient with him. She explained all the happenings in details she had heard years ago... from her mother, it seems. Kaiba wasn't interested. Yami had just fought against a literal demon to save the world. _Besides_ having all his past memories and traumas shoved down his throat. Everything so he could now visit his goddamn _tomb_ and be send to the world of dead.

Hahahaha... this was not happening. Not on his watch. He had no idea of what the herd of idiots had on their minds to even CONSIDER sending Yami away. He had to stop them right there, right now. He knew that presenting anything to that Tablet was not a good idea... ugh.

* * *

He flew across the ocean as fast as humanly possible. He wanted to feel relieved when he finally saw the Egyptian sands, the beautiful landscapes and the pyramids on the horizon... but he didn't. It felt awful. He felt like every second spend looking at the beautiful monuments could be the difference between having Yami... and never seeing him again. Kaiba couldn't bear it. Mokuba was nervous in the backseat. Kaiba had never seen the child rock back and forth so much, nor so nervously.

"Nii-sama… Is everything Ishizu said true? Is Yami going away forever?"

Kaiba felt a large lump on his throat, nausea building up in his stomach.

"No. Not if we stop these monkeys from screwing up." Kaiba tried to state firmly, but it sounded empty even from himself.

Mokuba kept swaying back and forth.

* * *

The sand felt way too hot against his leather shoes. It kept him from walking, collapsing under him as he tried to run to the large, old tomb ahead. It looked more like a palace than anything else. A cold shiver ran down his spine when he realized that it was almost identical to the place he saw... back when Slifer and Obelisk fought with each other. The place where the Priest who, according to Ishizu, was his ancient form... which was bullshit, betrayed his pharaoh and- Kaiba assumed, killed him in cold blood. He might've regretted it later and covered it up with a demon story but Kaiba knew the truth. He saw the Priest's predatory eyes. That man was out for blood, Yami's blood. Regretting it or not, Kaiba could feel the truth squirming deep inside his bones.

He could remember the mummies resting eternally behind glass walls. An enigma for anyone who visited that museum, but not for him. He knew who caused all the bruises and broken bones in the small mummy's body. And he knew that it was an enormous amount of disrespect to let the bigger mummy be right beside him. The thought that Yami and that... Priest had spend 3000 years inside a tomb together made his stomach twirl.

He finally made it to the large palace-like tomb and kicked the doors open before dashing inside. He barely had time to settle in before the nerd herd came out running and pushed him aside.

The CEO growled, scanning around for Yami and following the crew after he found nothing. The palace was crumbling behind him. As soon as he realized what was happening, he had to jump out of the way of a huge piece of the ceiling. Gasping and trembling, he stumbled to the equally terrified group of friends. Sand littered his boots once again the second he stepped out of the temple.

"HEY." He yelled, grabbing Yugi by both of his shoulders. The startled kid looked up at him with a gasp. Seto's trained blue eyes immediately realized that the Puzzle was nowhere to be seen. Anger and terror build up inside his chest like fire. Yugi would usually keep the Puzzle around his neck whenever he had it...

"YUGI." He screamed once again, making sure that he had the smaller one's attention.

"Where's Yami?! WHERE IS HE?!"

Yugi's face turned into a frown and he pushed Kaiba's hands away. The smaller male tidied himself up before he answered, eyes turning dark.

"Kaiba... Yami- I mean, Atem-" He corrected himself in a flash, hand curling around the clothes over his chest. Kaiba's eyes widened but he didn't interrupt, eager to know what the he'll was going on.

The smaller male sighed, seemingly at a loss of words. But he soon looked up once again and started-

"The spell that pushed Yami into the Tablet was Bakura's doing."

"The albino kid again?! What the hell?!"

"Yes, but the spirit inside his Ring. That's not important anyways, it's just... we got to see Ya- Atem's past, that's his real name. Turns out that-"

"Wait. What? His... real name? Atem?" Kaiba forced out. This was too much to get at once like this, his head was spinning. The name sounded extraterrestrial and familiar to his heart at the same time. What could that mean...?

"Yes. His name was the key for recovering all of his memories. But, back to what I was saying, turns out that... he needed to leave."

Yugi tensed up, arms and shoulders tightly pressed against his torso. He expected an explosion, a scream, a punch or anything of the liking to come his way. When nothing happened, he looked up with a single eye to see Kaiba's completely neutral face. The CEO seemed dumbstruck.

"H-He just wasn't meant to stay." Yugi repeated, softer this time. "He belonged in the past, with his friends and family. Now that he remembers everything and... did what he needed to do, we couldn't let him stay here. He's finally resting after all these years, Kaiba."

Seto's eyes were completely blank, but they soon filled with an array of emotions. His face distorted into a horrifying frown, and Yugi swallowed dry.

"What." He whispered, venom dripping from his voice. Yugi closed his eyes tightly.

"WHAT." As expected, Kaiba was exploding. "WHAT?!"

"He's resting, Kaiba. Like he deserves to be." Yugi was persistent, pushing Kaiba's hands out of his shoulders. "You knew that you couldn't trap him here forever. He's where he deserves to be now."

Laughs echoed around the place. The nerd herd shivered with the coldness in Seto's voice.

He was shaking with laughter, moving his head from side to side.

"What an ambitious joke. Congratulations." The CEO forced out, a hand gripping his stomach in a tight grip. Yugi looked at him with a look that was way too similar with pity for his liking.

"I'm going to go in to find him." Kaiba said with a certainty that made everyone widen their eyes at him.

"Kaiba, the building has collapsed." Yugi stated the obvious, pointing at the wrecked tomb. The CEO seemed oblivious to the fact that it was dangerous and pointless to go inside.

"Yami is there somewhere. You must've done something stupid like bury his Puzzle to 'put him to rest' and I'm going to get him back. Even if I have to dig up the entire tomb with an excavation team, do you get me?" He spat out, voice rising with each word. Yugi was still standing his ground, to Kaiba's surprise. That only enraged the CEO, however, and he stormed to the ruins without another glance.

Yugi sighed as Seto disappeared inside the building.

The members of the nerd herd awkwardly started to look at each other, unsure of what to say. Maybe sending Atem away without a warning or even a phone call to Kaiba wasn't the best idea.

"...that went well." Jou's voice broke the uncomfortable silence between them.

* * *

Seto was looking around inside the tomb, taking in deep, shaky breaths. Yugi was lying. He HAD to be lying. Yami... Atem, no matter what his name is, wouldn't leave like that, would he? There was no way, they were together for years. They were lovers...

Breathing was getting harder and harder. Lungs burning and water escaping through the corners of his eyes. This was so awful. He thought that Yami loved him. He was so sure he did...

Blue eyes snapped open and he let out a strangled gasp. Was... that putting to rest thing even something that Yami agreed with?

 _"I'll try my best to stay with you forever..."_

The whisper fueled Seto's soul, and he breathed softly at the feeling. The burning was now easier to bear, and the tiny drops of liquid stopped falling across his face. Putting his arms around himself, the CEO glared down at the pile of wreckage inside the temple.

He could feel something pulling his heart. Yami... Atem was somewhere down there.

He weakly crouched down before pushing stones aside. Lifting and moving the stones as much as he could, he created a small hole between the debris.

He wasn't sure of how much time he spend there, nor of how much his hands hurt at the task. He just kept digging until it was too cold and his hands refused to work any longer.

He had a considerable hole in front of him now. The pile went deeper than he thought, he probably wasn't even scratching the surface. But as he was closing his eyes to clean up his sweat, a glimpse of gold caught his attention.

He shoved himself where the source of light came from. Gripping the small gold piece between his cold, hurt fingers...

It was the Eye. From the Puzzle. A single Puzzle piece.

The burning sensation came back with a force and he had to sat down, bringing the Puzzle piece closer to his chest. It didn't irradiate warmth anymore, but it somehow still comforted him to the core. Yami was still there... he was still here with him, Seto was sure.

Pulling himself out of the small hole he created, Kaiba went back to his jet with the Puzzle piece in hand. He was going home and preparing an excavation team to come tomorrow. They were going to find the Puzzle, build it back to health and bring Yami back to him. This was going to work out. Everything was going to work out.

* * *

 **Next update will be on 22\12.**


	19. End of a Journey

Six months passed in a flash. Kaiba worked himself to death to make everything possible for Yami's comeback. He would barely sleep nor eat. Seto was living out of pure determination to bring his lover back to the world of the living.

Mokuba couldn't help but feel worried to death over his big brother's situation. He was also shaken up and depressed by Yami's... Atem's... death, of sorts. It happened too fast and hit them too hard without notice. Mokie couldn't help but be angry. He didn't know what happened to Yami, but... what could be so awful and make him busy enough so he wouldn't warn his family about having to go away FOREVER? Mokuba couldn't understand.

He wasn't able to rule out the possibility of Yami outright wanting to go away... and being too afraid to tell them about it before leaving.

A "surprise!" of really, REALLY bad taste.

He felt awful for considering that, but it... was a possibility. Seto was persistent, though. He believed that the nerd herd had outright murdered Atem and send him into the afterlife, but. They just wouldn't do something like that. They were too happy go lucky, too friendship driven to do something so awful. Without Yami's consent, that is...

Mokuba shook his head fiercely, trying to get rid of the thoughts. With Yami's consent or not, Seto was going to bring him back. And they'd interrogate EVERYTHING out of their beloved ghost once that happened.

"Mokuba, how is the excavation going?" Kaiba's tired, heavy voice broke Mokie from his thoughts.

He jumped on his seat at his brother's voice. Grabbing his tablet with clumsy hands, he pulled up all the information he currently had. Since his big bro had installed "surveillance" cameras for duelists' "safety" during tournaments all over the city... they had complete control over everyone's lives. It was almost scary to Mokuba, but he couldn't deny how empowering this was.

They kept track of everything that got in and everything that went out. His brother had even found an anomaly in their data and they discovered about some guy named Aigami and how he was out for the Puzzle pieces... with a degree of antecedence that scared even them.

"Ah! We've got roughly eight pieces from the ruins this week. Way more than we were expecting to get! They're all intact, which is pretty impressive. And the ones that got scratched or crushed are currently being restored up and send to the space station."

That goddamn place. Seto would spend so much of his time there, it was rare that they would see each other at all in several weeks.

"These are wonderful news." Kaiba sounded outright relieved even through the virtual messaging. Mokuba's lips turned into a thin line. He was suffering so much.

"The Puzzle is almost completely build. With these eight pieces, we're only missing two. Yami... Atem is closer than ever." The emotion in Seto's voice was so raw and tangible that Mokie wanted to scream.

"Yeah... yeah. That's true, Nii-sama. He'll be back soon, I'm sure." The younger Kaiba's words felt empty even for himself... but he could feel his brother's smile through the next voice message.

"Thank you, Mokuba. I'm going to check on the building chamber. See you soon."

 _" 'See you soon'? You say that every time."_ Mokuba thought bitterly. He sighed, hoping that Kaiba would actually come down the tower for once... he build that thing only so the Puzzle would be reconstructed in zero gravity. In the flashiest way possible so Atem would come back in a blast.

He loved him so much. Mokuba could barely wrap his head around it.

Deciding that it was something not worth thinking about for now... the younger Kaiba leaned his head on the table and closed his eyes, tired.

* * *

The Puzzle pieces floated in a soothing pace inside the glass tube, being moved around by tiny robot arms. The computer was trying every single combination possible to solve the Puzzle... and Seto could already see the familiar figure of an upside down pyramid inside the glass.

The middle piece was fit in the Puzzle with a soft, tender movement. Deep, dense blue eyes stared at the tube. He swallowed dry.

There was so little left. So damn little. The hole in the beautiful golden piece pained the deepest parts of his heart. He couldn't wait to fill it up and get his own soul back together.

* * *

Getting the Puzzle pieces was way more difficult than he first thought it would be. Some ancient bullshit was getting in the way again. More specifically, some young kids from the lineage of one of the priests. He didn't doubt that his "ancient self" was the one to screw things up for him in the present once again.

Things eventually got so out of hand that he had to start a tournament of _three_ to get _his_ Puzzle pieces back. He was going to fight both Yugi and the yellow-eyed kid for their Puzzle pieces.

The golden artifact felt weirdly warm against his hand, and he was sure that Yami was inside. He held it affectionately, almost as if he was holding a living thing. It was soon going to house his lover, so he had to be careful with it.

That Aigami kid with dark blue hair... He was annoying to no end. Refusing to give up on his puzzle piece because he would lose his magic powers or something. Why he thought that Kaiba would care was beyond him.

Seto just wanted to settle things and go back to build the goddamn Puzzle. He wanted Atem back. He wanted to see Yami again. Why was Yugi fighting him back so much? Didn't he also want to see his precious friend?

Kaiba felt his heart jump to his throat. Yugi stopped their duel in the middle and pulled the Puzzle piece out of his pocket... What….? What was he going to do with it?

The CEO widened his eyes when Yugi approached him, hands reaching out for the Puzzle.

Kaiba hesitated, instinctively holding the Puzzle closer to his body. But as he saw Yugi's eyes, he felt like he could give it to him. Yami was very fond of this kid, so Kaiba was sure that he could trust Yugi to not end his plan.

Even so, Kaiba eyed the smaller boy with anxiety as he held Yami's soul on his hands.

Blue eyes widened even more as Yugi began to assemble the Puzzle right in front of him.

Excitement ran through the CEO's body, and he stared at the broken artifact as if his life depended on it.

" _YES!"_ He screamed internally. _"Yes, finally!"_

Atem was on his way…

The pure excitement and happiness running through his veins soon started to wear down after Yugi fit the last puzzle piece in with a soft 'click'...

….and nothing happened.

Kaiba wasn't sure of what he was expecting. Maybe a familiar shadow to grow from the Puzzle and terrify everyone in the stadium? Or for Yugi to be possessed in the exact same moment the Puzzle was assembled? Even Yami falling from the skies in a ray of light would have been more appropriate than this... utter silence.

He swallowed dry, feeling sweat drops falling across his face. Something was gripping his heart hard, and it was hard to breathe. Yugi's large purple eyes were looking at him with something so similar to pity that it made Kaiba want to throw up.

He knew that his eyes were shining with tears, and that aggravated him to no end. Yami didn't come back. But. He _had_ to come back. What happened? Why was this happening to him? He just wanted Yami back, Yami was the only thing that he swore that he would never lose…

The pain was getting harder and harder to bear as he remembered all of his promises to protect and care for the spirit... the way that Yami protected him throughout his entire childhood. The promises the ghost had for him. The way that Yami always brandished the KC symbol with pride around his neck.

He was still giving out shaky breaths when Aigami got up once again. This time the boy formed an amalgamation with his cube monsters. Fighting like this was hard, with his heart beating painfully inside his chest. Yugi was worried about him for some reason, but the only thing Kaiba could think about... was how he would find a way to bring Atem back regardless. That should've worked… It _should have._

Swallowing his doubts, he realized that Aigami was about to turn Yugi's lifepoints to zero.

Every single time Yami ever sneaked out to make Yugi company and to be with him flashed through his mind.

He used a magic card to save the boy's life in the exact same moment, and felt his soul being torn out of his body as an result.

Yugi was beside him in an instant, yelling questions on why, why he had done something like that?!

Seto couldn't answer properly, the pressure all around him was too much. His body was giving out, disappearing into thin air as he muttered the words...

"For him. The Pharaoh."

He sounded heavy and tired. Calling Yami by his title felt weird, but right at the same time.

"Bring him back Yugi." The CEO whispered. His vision was turning black... The last thing he saw before diving into non-existence was Yugi. Him tightening his grip on the deck he and Yami had build together.

* * *

Gentle warmth was consuming his body with tenderness. It was a great contrast with the cold despair he was feeling just seconds ago. He couldn't pin point what exactly was making him feel like this... but as he started to analyze where the heck he was, he could perceive seas and seas of yellow as far as his eyes could see. The same shade of yellow that always adorned Yami's eyes. His entire body was enveloped by it, as if the golden sea was softly pushing him back to reality. It was so warm and gentle, Kaiba felt like he could submerge his entire self in it and stay there forever.

Why did this feel…. So much like Atem?

The blackness around him started to dissolve and give place to light. He could see a silhouette of the real world, of the duel that was still going on between Yugi and Aigami. They were still facing each other, locked in a fiery combat.

Kaiba saw as a beacon of light descended from the skies and hit Yugi right on the head. Golden fire consumed his body and Seto felt his heart skip a beat.

That fire…

Flashes of the past passed through his mind. The fiery eye on Yami's forehead whenever he was enraged, the golden acid that dripped from the ghost's mouth.

Seto did his best to suppress his waves of nostalgia and excitement as the fire took form... turning into a familiar shape.

 _Atem._

Kaiba cursed at his inability to get out of the golden sea and burst back into reality, back where Yami was. He was so enraged at how slowly the ocean was moving, almost as if it was keeping him from getting there in time. Was this some curse from the priest once again?!

No… it couldn't be.

But it sure did feel like it. He was being forced to watch Yami defeating the evil force with a single move, with some priest's help. The guy reminded him a LOT of the Dark Magician, and... it was good to know that Atem used to have at least one decent priest during his lifetime.

The powerful Pharaoh had an exchange with Yugi before taking the Puzzle away with him. Seto could feel his entire body freezing at the sight, and tears burning on the back of his eyes. All of his work, all those investments in putting the Puzzle back together, and Yami was just... going to take it away forever? What the fuck?

The golden waters around him wrapped his body in warmth, reassuring and protecting. He knew that he was lost in a void, and that the sea was definitely some part of Atem's soul trying to bring him back. Was Yami trying to reassure him that things would be okay, regardless of if he had the Puzzle or not? But... how could that even be?

The slow, calming movements of the water were pulling him into a forced sleep. He tried to remain awake as far as humanly possible, but the warmth in this ocean worked like magic. He couldn't keep himself from closing his eyes…

* * *

When he woke up, things looked very different and much brighter. There were tiny golden particles everywhere... falling from the skies, travelling through the wind. The only hint he had that Atem had indeed been here, other than the fact that he was still alive, of course.

His entire body was still a bit numb, but he felt a weird mix of happiness and despair clouding his heart.

 _Yami had been here_. He was right all along, death was nothing but the act of a soul travelling to another dimension. Atem was living proof for the phenomenon. The satisfaction of being right was consuming Seto's chest.

But at the same time…

He didn't get to see his Pharaoh at all. Only barely, while he was trapped in the dark void. And he was sure that didn't count. For him, it definitely didn't.

He had to find a way to get to Yami again. He had to.

With a painful, heavy feeling of emptiness in his stomach, Kaiba got up from the floor where he had woken up. His hand touched something right besides him. The CEO almost jumped when he saw Aigami's Millennium Item, the Cube, resting there. _What?!_ Atem had taken the Puzzle, but not _the Cube?_ This thing was ten times more dangerous than the Puzzle could ever be!

Realization hit Kaiba like a truck.

Did Yami… Atem… want him to use the cube to find him?

A burning feeling of happiness ran through Seto's entire body. He grabbed the Cube in a tight grip, hiding it in his cloak. There was a chance for him to bring Yami back. _He could do it._

He was so consumed with happiness that he didn't even mind talking to the nerd herd. They were all gleaming with joy as well, especially when Yugi told them about how he talked with Atem. About how he was doing well in the afterlife. Kaiba couldn't help but smile through the entire conversation. Even when Yugi asked if he was going to go and try to find Atem once again.

With a smirk, the only thing he said was that, even though Yugi had a bond with Atem-

"I also have mine." Kaiba muttered, blue eyes shining with excitement.

"I'm going to find him using that bond. I'm going to see him again."

Yugi sighed, but smiled at him. He had been trying to stop Kaiba all this time... trying to convince him that death was eternal and that the world of the dead was unreachable for the living, but. Kaiba proved him otherwise with Atem's comeback. He had nothing to say to him right now. Except...

"Good luck." He exclaimed as the CEO walked away. Kaiba stopped on his tracks.

Yugi knew that he used to hate the Kaiba Corporation CEO to no end. Especially after he found out that the kid had stolen his precious Puzzle. But. Now he understood that even without the Puzzle, he was able to survive and to make friends, all without any help. Jounouchi had been his best friend for years now, and his help was more than enough to shape him in the person he was now.

Closing his eyes, Yugi remembered Yami... Atem. His last words, the day he agreed to pass through the doors of the Afterlife. Yami had been one of the best friends he ever had. And he was still bitter against Kaiba for the way he took Yami away from him. It was understandable, though. Yami was a pillar, someone you could lean on and support yourself with. He was gentle and protective, everything Yugi needed back when he was bullied in school, but...

If everything he heard about Kaiba's past from Mokuba was true... maybe the young CEO needed Yami by his side more than he himself could ever need.

* * *

"Are you sure that this is safe, Nii-sama...?" Mokuba muttered, trying to suppress the shivers in his voice.

Kaiba didn't answer, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath.

The pod wasn't as comfortable as he would like, cold and devoid of any cushioning, but it was okay. It would serve his purpose, and he was going to arrive where he needed to.

His heavy breathing created warm white clouds on the glass in front of him. That's how tight the pod was. It felt like a coffin, a coffin of coldness and iron.

Bright, determined blue eyes looked to the side, to were the Cube was. Right beside the pod. It was going to send him to the dimension he wanted, he just had to give himself the right pull.

"Nii-sama...?"

Seto's eyes clamped shut. He knew that his little brother wanted reassurance, wanted to be sure that he would come back alive, but. He didn't really know himself, and in Kaiba's mind, it was a hundred times worse to lie about a situation like this.

He ignored Mokuba's pleading eyes as he activated the machine.

"Mokuba... take care of our company while I'm gone."

"N-Nii-sama..." Mokuba had his hand right above the 'abort' button, ready to turn off the energy in case anything happened. He hated it when his brother did this. So much. He knew that lies were harmful, but. Hearing from his brother's mouth that there was a possibility that he wouldn't... come back was much better than this forced, awful silence.

"Please come back, Nii-sama..." He forced out regardless as his brother disappeared into the space elevator's tether.

Kaiba had his eyes tightly shut, but he could still see the glows passing through his closed eyes. Alternating between darkness and the artificial lights from the tether. It was almost hypnotic.

Numbness started to consume him from the tips of his fingers and went up his arm. Seto dared to open his eyes and felt his breath get stuck inside his chest. He could see his own blood vessels, his skin had turned into a thin see-through layer of tiny cubes.

Forcing himself to not throw up, the CEO shut his eyes once again. His body was shaking as numbness and heat consumed his entire body.

* * *

When his body returned from being numb to the core, the first thing Kaiba did was feel around the pod. He messed around for some minutes until he finally managed to open the glass ceiling.

A fresh, spicy scent filled his nostrils and he slowly forced his eyes open, covering his face right after.

The sun was scalding the land and the sand made everything worse by absorbing the heat. Kaiba had a hard time pulling himself out of the pod- the metal was burning to the touch.

When he found a way to stand up comfortably, the CEO scanned the area. As he realized that this was a huge desert, his heart tightened at the thought that he may have gone to the wrong place.

But he saw a glimpse of gold in the horizon... an enormous palace, he could see that much.

Excitement began to bubble in his stomach and he didn't waste time heading to the place. It was a long walk indeed, but he felt like it was the biggest one he ever had to bear in his life.

Towering statues of Ra guarded the entrance to the temple. It was so big that Seto almost felt mesmerized, but he was too focused to waste time in something like that.

None of the guards paid him any attention, and for a moment he wondered if anyone could see him at all. He was pretty sure that his steps echoed across the palace once he entered the Throne Room, though.

Gold bathed the walls, the furniture, the statues... the paintings on the tall columns that held up the ceiling. Everything was golden, and jewelry adorned each one of the guards in front of this land's King.

He was sitting above all on the tall Throne of pure gold... Hands resting on the armrests that had carved lion heads on each side. Red eyes gleaming with happiness that melted Kaiba to the core.

The CEO didn't say anything- he didn't need to. Just pulling out his Duel Disk was enough to send... Atem a message, and the king got up from his place above everyone so he could join his partner on the lower ground.

Seto observed each tiny detail with great care. The way that Atem's cape undulated on the air, the gold glimmering against his skin. It was tanned, a beautiful bronze tone that, for Kaiba's huge surprise, fit perfectly with him. Even better than the pretty pale he used to wear back when he possessed Yugi.

His eyes and hair were oh, so much more crimson that Kaiba felt like he could drown in them.

Those eyes, even though completely different from the warm, calming shade of yellow that Yami used to have... still had the same gentle and protective look. The tiny, lithe body wasn't nearly as intimidating as the dark dripping monster he still saw in his dreams, but. It inspired the same certainty of safety, the same feeling that he was dealing with something... someone completely different from the ordinary.

And as Atem approached him and opened a huge, delighted smile... Seto realized that he still did it in the same stupid way he had during all these years.

"Aibou."

Kaiba couldn't help but feel emotional, and he threw Atem's duel disk- the white and pink one that had been made especially for him- onto his chest to hide from his embarrassment.

The Pharaoh simply laughed at him in such a carefree manner that Kaiba felt a bit dumb for worrying.

"Shall we start the duel?"

Kaiba's head snapped up immediately. It was the first time he had heard Yami's voice. At least without it sounding completely otherworldly or phantasmagorical. It was soft and silky like linen, and he gawked in surprise.

"That's what I came for." Seto answered in a husky tone. Lies. He had so much to ask, so much to force out of his beloved partner, he had so much he wanted to know about the two days he was gone.

He knew, though. That a duel was going to speak more and more loudly than he ever could.

* * *

He was absolutely right. That battle confirmed everything he knew and taught him a lot about what he didn't know about his Pharaoh.

Atem won.

It's not like Kaiba didn't expect it. Actually that was what he had been waiting for. Atem winning meant that Atem wasn't ready to throw the towel just yet. Atem wasn't ready to put down his sword, to stop fighting.

It wasn't his time just yet.

They left the battle field, ignoring all the widened eyes following Yami's steps. Kaiba assumed that they couldn't see him. So Atem fighting against some invisible enemy... must have been a terrifying sight indeed.

But no one dared to stop them, and they soon arrived at the Bathing Rooms. Yami looked at him, a soft red hue tainting his cheeks.

"I assume that you're tired after the long trip. Please allow yourself to relax here, those pools have been build on top of thermals, they should be nice and warm." The Pharaoh wasn't looking at him, busying himself with searching for towels and soaps.

Kaiba stared at him hungrily as he pulled off his clothes. Atem avoided his aibou's eyes, swallowing dry.

It was only when the sounds of Seto getting in the water reached him that he dared to lift his head.

Seto let out a deep, satisfied sigh. The water was warm and clear, he could feel the stress from these six months melting away. He pulled his head back and was surprised to find a soft pillow to rest on. The pool had a comfortable conical shape with no edges, so his neck didn't hurt a bit.

Bright blue eyes searched for Yami, thankful for how hospitable and careful he was being. The Pharaoh was sitting beside him, legs moving around in the water.

"Atem." He called. The name still sounded so weird, but... right.

The former spirit took some time to answer. When he did, he let out a startled sigh and approached his aibou.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm still not completely used to my name."

"It's okay." Kaiba replied nonchalantly. "The name fits you, though. The God of Light, huh? It's a far shot away from 'Yami', heh."

Atem couldn't help but turn redder at the compliment.

"Ah, well... I like 'Yami' a lot too. It sounds nice, despise what it means."

"I also like 'Darkness' and it used to fit, but I'd rather give you due respect and use that powerful name of yours. It was way too hard to get for me not to use it."

"Aibou..." The Pharaoh muttered, a watery smile spreading on his face.

"Thank you."

They spend some time in a relaxed silence until Kaiba couldn't help but break it.

"You didn't come here in purpose, did you...?"

Seto could hear Atem's breath getting caught up inside his chest.

Perturbed red eyes stared holes into pale skin.

"How did you...?" The Pharaoh muttered in a desperate tone. As Kaiba kept staring at him for more answers, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Yugi and the others didn't know. They send me away with the purest of intentions, I swear."

These words were able to relax Kaiba for a second, but the worried eyes came back in a flash. Even if the nerd herd didn't murder Atem away, he was still forced to leave against his will. Who...?

Flashes of the person who kept him from helping his ghost in the first place rushed through his mind.

"That priest." Kaiba said with so much venom that Atem shivered besides him. His spirit seemed shy about the subject, but he nodded, confirming Kaiba's fears.

"He was extremely… convincing… Seth." Atem muttered, avoiding Seto's eyes.

Kaiba grasped his shoulders, forcing him to look up.

"What did he do to you?!" The CEO forced out, awful memories from his coma springing up…

The Pharaoh still refused to look at him, but. He started to whisper some explanations that Kaiba had to bend down to hear.

"Seth is the Pharaoh that came after me, and my cousin. He saw me die. In the past, back when we had to fight for the fate of Egypt and our people."

Yami's voice turned so low that Kaiba was unable to hear anything else, so he pulled his lover in a warm embrace.

"If you need to tell me about your past so I can understand, so be it. I know that I've always kept you from it, that I was always awful whenever you mentioned it, but… I didn't want to lose you. In the end, keeping you from learning what you had to learn ended up tearing you away from me. And I was left without a clue of how to get you back."

The CEO took a deep breath and buried his nose on the soft hair of his Pharaoh's neck. Atem was weakly returning the hug, getting comfortable on Kaiba's lap. He listened to everything his lover had to say as he cooled down. He hoped that he'd relax enough to tell Seto about what happened without giving him any wrong ideas.

Seto wasn't done with his own confessions though.

"I've always been like this. Since the first time I realized that you weren't immortal, that I could _really_ lose you in a blink of an eye, back in the orphanage... I just. I swore that I wouldn't let anything or anyone take you away from me. You were so important to me, you were my safety and my comfort. When I realized that something as simple as you learning your name... or your past, would make you want to go away I just. Tried to keep you as blind as I possibly could, and… I'm so sorry."

Kaiba sounded so tired.

"Yugi too, and the herd of nerds. I could see them only as something that would drive you away and I couldn't have that. I'm sorry that I kept you from having happy moments with other people. They aren't nearly as bad as I thought they were. I was just… so scared."

"But please. Tell me. Tell me everything that made you go away and take this weight out of my chest. We shouldn't keep anything from each other any longer. Let's come clear and decide whatever we'll do next with care. I need it. Please."

The business man could feel a tired sigh against his chest. Both of them had gone through so damn much.

"I'll tell you everything, aibou."

"That's all I want."

With some last deep breaths to relax, Atem started.

"I was born a good time after Seth first saw the world. Roughly five years, if I'm not mistaken. During that time, my uncle was certain that Seth was the one going to inherit the throne. He couldn't do that himself because he was already very old."

Atem began to play with his fingers as he kept going…

"Then my father had me. My uncle was livid, because not only him but the entire Court thought that dad was infertile. I never knew during my time there, but my uncle has always hated me since the first time he laid his eyes on me."

"Both him and Seth are useless bastards, then. Like father like son."

" _Gods,_ _**no!**_ Seth was an wonderful ally. Extremely loyal and powerful, I could always count on him for everything. I can't say that my trip to the memory world enlightened me about how my childhood was like, but... from what I've heard from everyone in the palace, he used to live in the poorest parts of the village outside. I was the one to bring him in as a priest in training and we became inseparable since then."

"Oh. I didn't... know about any of that. From the vision we had, I thought that all he did was betray you so he could get to the throne. He was really awful and violent there."

"That wasn't… him. He was being influenced by an evil entity, and that entity controlled everything he did and said."

"You DO know what _being influenced_ means, right? It means that he considered the possibility of killing you as plausible and correct. Even if _just_ _a little bit_." Kaiba spat out, tightening his grip on Atem's body.

Atem nodded, lips turning into a thin line.

"It's because… there was a girl. Seth liked her a lot, even if they had met a short while ago. Because of everything with the God of Darkness trying to eradicate Egypt, Bakura trying to avenge his village by murdering me, and... just everything that was happening, the girl ended up dead helping him. That nearly made him go insane, and. Of course that the fault was going to fall on my shoulders even if unconsciously, because I'm the Pharaoh. My father's actions brought Egypt into misery... and even if it wasn't his intent nor mine, someone had to be faulted for it. Someone had to be punished. And Seth didn't hesitate into blaming me to get relief from the pain."

"A girl." Kaiba snorted, seeming more and more bitter each minute. Yami forced himself to go on, sweating at his own words.

"He was understandably enraged. Being possessed was everything needed to set him on a rampage."

" _He killed you."_ Seto stated the obvious, trying to keep the venom out of his voice without success.

To his surprise, Atem smiled and shook his head.

"No, he didn't get that far. Seth regained his own self and we managed to join forces to fight against the God of Darkness but. My body couldn't stand it anymore. I knew that we were going to lose, and locked every single part of my soul in the Puzzle. Seth... he didn't know that my ace card involved absolutely destroying everything... every possibility I had of having a happy Afterlife. I guess that he thought... We always got into a lot of trouble back when we were kids. And back then, I always found a way to get out of these situations without hurting anyone. I guess that he thought that this time would be the same... and even though I was indeed able to summon the Goddess of Light to fight the Darkness away, in the first time around I was just... too weak. It would have been fruitless."

Feeling Atem tremble against him, Seto couldn't help but hug him tighter. He couldn't begin to imagine how awful spending an eternity inside the Puzzle must've been.

"I don't think that I'll ever forget the look in Seth's face as he realized what I was doing. It still haunts me to this day, and has always been unconsciously there, even back in the Puzzle. He was just... so terrified. And when I fell back to the ground and he was holding me close, he was begging for me not to go. It was the worst experience for the both of us."

Kaiba kept silent as his Pharaoh looked down, sighing.

"I couldn't stop it, though. It was the only choice I had. I'm not sure about what happened after I closed my eyes for good, but… I remember his cries. I remember him resting his head against mine and saying that I wasn't allowed to go because I was all he had left and I wanted to stay so badly, but..." The Pharaoh cut himself as his throat tightened and he fought back several sobs.

"I'm sorry. I'm rambling a whole lot."

"Don't worry about it. I should see if you can get some therapy after all of this, though. Being haunted by your own death can't be healthy."

Atem laughed, and it was the prettiest sound Kaiba heard in over a year.

"Thank you, aibou. But I should keep going. You want to know why I ended up here."

Seto nodded faintly.

"Then you should know that the Tablet of Memories absorbing my soul was Seth's plan all along."

"WHAT?! HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT SO CALMLY?!"

"He wanted to help. He told me, that after my death, everything he did was relentlessly search ways to save my condemned soul. He carved the Tablet of Memories meaning every word in it. It has been infused with a large array of spells so it could live through the hardships of time. So it could transport me to the World of Memories. So I could remember my name, defeat Zorc and get peace in death. He did that because he wanted to give me a second chance at our most important fight. He did that because he wanted to see me again."

Kaiba was speechless.

"He was the one who started the family of Tomb Keepers. He was the one who assigned people to look after the Items. The one who enchanted them to look after our vessels... he was supposed to find and possess you, and I was supposed to find and possess Yugi. We were going to do that together, and he had promised himself that I wouldn't get hurt on his sight. But that spell backfired, and not only the Rod didn't make it in your hands, the Puzzle never made it to Yugi either. At least not for long enough."

Kaiba was relieved to see that Atem was smiling as he said those words. No resentments on that regard, even if he knew that his Pharaoh adored Yugi to no end.

"And besides all of that, Bakura ended up being the one finding a proper vessel. He gave us a lot of trouble in the Millennium World, too. I thought that he had died back in Battle City, but he is the most persistent guy I know. He's probably still trapped inside the Ring somewhere on Earth, but he'll make his way here one way or another. I just hope that seeing his family will calm his desire for revenge down instead of fueling it."

Seto nodded, trying not to seem scared at the thought of Bakura cornering Atem in the Afterlife. He was still buried six feet underground on Earth though, he didn't need to worry about that. It would be nothing but paranoia.

"After I recovered my name and a swallow amount of memories... nothing but enough to enlighten me a bit about my past, I was ready to leave the museum once and for all and get to you, aibou. But. Seth wouldn't allow me. He was in complete despair when he found out that I wasn't going to stay with him. And... He told me so much about how things used to be, and about how much he needed me in his life and when I told him about you, he just... snapped."

"He said that he put you in a coma so you wouldn't interfere... and that he wasn't going to free you unless I went to the Afterlife to rest with him. I just. I had no choice, aibou."

Kaiba gripped Atem so tightly that it hurt, and the smaller male let out a whimper.

 _"Where is that bastard."_ Kaiba forced out. He was shivering with pure hatred. The fears and anxieties from the six months Atem was away burned inside him. This was all because of that damn priest. This was all his fault.

"Seto." Atem muttered in such a soft, comforting voice that Kaiba remembered how to breathe.

"I told him that you'd never stay away from me for long. And I refused all his advances. He is a wonderful person, he had just missed me and was doing everything on his power to get me back. Please don't be mad at him. I'm all yours, I'll always be."

Kaiba scoffed on Atem's neck, anger still bubbling inside him. The words calmed down his fears, though, and he was able to focus once again.

"Atem…"

"Even if his spells backfired, even if not everything went along with his plan, Seth still tried. He still brought some relief to the first hundred years I spend inside the Puzzle. Even when I was exhausted after walking eternally through the same halls, I could still hear him. The songs, the incense. Burning torches, warm linen and enchantments spoken in a long lost language. It was everything that kept me from going insane." The Pharaoh took a deep breath and pulled himself away from Kaiba. He smiled.

"He reminds me of you. Trying to give all sorts of reasons for me not to leave, then breaking the rules of the universe so he could have me back."

Seto snorted at that statement.

"If he wanted you to stay so badly he should never have created me. I'm not going to back off until you come back with me."

Atem's smile turned duller.

"I'm not sure if I can, Seto. I don't exactly belong in the world of the living anymore. Even if you somehow restored my body, even if you managed to convince the Gods to let me go... I'd have to be registered as a sixteen year old, I'd have to learn how to eat, how to act, how to be a proper citizen. I retain no basic knowledge of how to live and behave in your world, aibou. My time has long passed."

"I don't care. We'll find a way." Kaiba insisted, eyes burning with resolution.

Atem couldn't help but giggle and rest his head on the CEO's chest. That was his aibou. Even back in the orphanage, when Seto made his mind about something there was no holding him back. The kid was going to find a way to defy the Gods and give him new life, the Pharaoh was sure.

"What do you have in mind…?" Yami asked, face still buried in his aibou's chest.

"Ishizu and her sorcery plus my technology and science. We'll figure something out for sure."

The Pharaoh couldn't help a watery smile from spreading across his face.

"I'm sure you will, aibou. I'm sure you will."

* * *

When the day finally came, Kaiba couldn't be more nervous. Ishizu said that it would work, and that her little brother was helping her, which… wasn't very comforting. Malik could bring Yami back blind just to fuck with him for all Kaiba knew.

But they seemed to be focused and determined to do everything right. Kaiba had his excavation team clean up the tomb. Now they could walk inside without stumbling upon broken pieces of rock. Atem's resting place was nothing shorter than beautiful. The decorated walls lost their colors long ago, but the scriptures and the drawings stayed... and the echoes of the past traveled through them. It send shivers down Kaiba's spine. Especially when he managed to spot anything related to Duel Monsters in the walls.

He was still looking around the magnificent pillars and halls when Ishizu called out to him. He turned his head and took a deep breath.

They were in the same room where the Ceremonial Duel had taken place. The enormous doors in front of him, those stone doors with the Eyes that used to decorate Yami's forehead. They were the same ones that Atem went through after he was defeated. This was the place where he had laid down his sword. This was…

"Kaiba-san." Ishizu called once again. "We're going to start without you."

"I'm here." Seto forced out, approaching the huge ritual circle. The drawings Ishizu had put on the ground were shining brightly in the dimly lit tomb.

He and Malik stood in opposing sides of the circle as she walked in, standing in the middle. She was holding a carefully fold package that Kaiba didn't notice until now. Unfolding it, she revealed it to be an extremely old artifact- a papyrus of sorts. It had drawings in every inch of it's paper, and... given that Kaiba was recognizing some of the writings, that scroll must be a-

" _Book of the Dead? Isn't that a book to help lost souls find their way to the Afterlife_?" Kaiba thought to himself, heart beating loudly inside his chest. What was Ishizu planning to do with that? How could something like a Book of the Dead help to bring Atem back? Those used to be customized for each individual who died, so it probably won't even be effective if it isn't Atem's personal book…

The CEO felt his breath get caught up on his chest as Ishizu turned the Book upside down. The drawings glowed under her feet. Seto could catch a glimpse of what was written on the scroll and his blood pressure raised in an instant. He was able to recognize the name "Seth" in the midst of the hieroglyphs. She was using the priest's book. Of course. Atem's name couldn't have been written in a scroll for himself, so Seth took providence to help him out with his own Book.

Kaiba snapped away from his thoughts when he realized that Ishizu was pulling the fragile foils of paper apart... splitting them in half. That was definitely a very valuable piece, so what the hell? Was there something inside?

Leaning closer, he saw something golden between the decaying paper. A page made of pure gold hidden under Seth's scroll. What a sly bastard… he had really planned everything.

Ishizu ran her hand through the hieroglyphs on the golden sheet before reading them out loud. Her voice filled the empty halls, and the drawings under their feet started to glow more and more. Seto felt weirdly tired, and the feeling only intensified along with the chanting. His vision soon filled with black dots and dizziness took over. As he stumbled to keep upright, he noticed that Malik wasn't looking any better. The Egyptian seemed to be about to throw up, holding himself up by leaning against the wall. His tanned skin was unusually pale and his eyes were glassy and unfocused.

Whatever was happening with him must be happening to Malik, too. He felt like he was going to pass out…

The feeling was so awful that even when the entire circle glowed in a beautiful blue light... everything that Kaiba was able to do was knell down. His mind was going numb…

The blue from the drawings slowly started to travel towards the door. Magical lines through the floor tiles. Painting every single engraving they passed through. As they arrived to the door, the Eyes also joined the glowing, and the entire temple was bathed in light.

Seto was breathing in heavy pants, but he couldn't take his eyes away from the sight in front of him. The doors… They were opening. Blinding white light flooded the place. Was Atem… going to come out?

His heart was jumping so hard inside his chest that Seto was afraid that he was going to fall down right there and now. But. He could see that silhouette far away in the whiteness. It was approaching, and unwanted tears wound up on the back of his eyes.

He finally saw him. After all this time. He was more beautiful than ever. So... so different than from when he was a ghost. So different from when he was nothing more than a dark monster that crawled through the walls.

There was nothing dark about him now.

...it was like he irradiated his own light. As if he was a small sun with a skin of flames, slender body and fiery eyes.

The king was approaching. Through the marble doors. Outside the world of the deceased. When Atem stepped out, it was as if he had to suddenly get used to the weight of being alive once again. The fire consuming his skin died off with his permission to wander back to the Afterlife. It was hard to see Yami inside the glowing red eyes. It was hard to see the shadowy, gluey form in that beautiful, tanned body.

It hurt.

Yet... he was so glad for him. He was so glad that Atem was finally free. The fear of losing his beloved ghost had disappeared, because he now knew that even though he saw Yami as his for a long time... Atem belonged to no one.

He barely saw his beloved king approaching...

"I'm here, Kaiba. And I'm not going anywhere. Ever again" The former pharaoh muttered against his ear. He sounded tired. He sounded broken. And yet...

He sounded... happy?

Those huge red eyes were looking up at him, filled with love and relief. As if he genuinely never wanted to leave. He couldn't understand. After all he had done, Atem should've wanted to stay miles away from him...

He should've wanted to forget that they had ever met. Go live his life like he was finally allowed to after thousands and thousands of years. But still...

Kaiba hugged Atem's warm, living body tightly. He dug his nose in the soft hair and sighed as all the horrible happenings in their lives flashed before his eyes. He wanted to cry out of relief, now that he knew that Atem would certainly be by his side forever. That he wouldn't spend the rest of his days alone like Gozaburo once told him he would. Even though... they were both broken. Even though they couldn't be fixed.

They have gone through several years of pain and distress that would never go away. But in the end, he finally had Atem by his side. He finally was able to kiss the soft skin and he knew that Atem would feel it. To know that the issue with Atem's past was finished... know that both Zorc and Gozaburo were no more...

He finally knew that Atem was here, that he would stay.

And he couldn't have been more happy any other way.

* * *

 **This fic was a hell of a ride, I hope you all enjoyed it! It was a great experience to me, and I hope I'll be able to write more in a more organized way from now on! Thank you all who read it so far, I wouldn't have made it without you!**


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